The combined profits of China's major steelmakers crashed by more than 98 percent in 2012 as growth in the economy of the world's largest steel producer slowed, an industry group said. After-tax profits of more than 80 steelmakers reached around 1.58 billion yuan ($251 million) last year, the China Iron and Steel Association said in a statement on its website on Thursday. It attributed the fall to China's economic downtrend, which cut demand and caused prices to drop.