Nineteen steel companies have joined together to attempt to lower prices on coal, Shanghai Securities News reports. As they prepare to sign supply contracts with mines, the steel producers say that they hope to lower prices by 10%-15% in an effort to lower costs across the industry. A source with the information center of China's coal shipping and sales trade association said that the coal industry is not looking for much of a price change, and that national statistics actually show that profit margins in the coal industry fell 0.82 points in 2005, so there is not room for the large decrease the steel industry is seeking. Unfortunately for the nineteen companies, before the steel industry meeting, supply orders were signed with a Shanxi mining company at a price that did not reflect the desired decrease, and that company is using the higher price as a standard it its further talks with steel companies.Link: http://news.hexun.com/detail.aspx?lm=1715&id=1480241