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Port Hedland's iron ore shipments to China hit record high in June

Source: Mysteel Aug 08, 2024 17:20

Iron Ore Shipment

The volume of iron ore shipped to China during June from Port Hedland, the top iron ore dispatch terminal in Western Australia, rose by 6.9% from May to touch a historical high of 48.5 million tonnes, according to new data released by the Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA). The monthly data for June was delayed by around two weeks, Mysteel Global notes.

The jump in ore shipments to China through Port Hedland was in tandem with the record high iron ore cargoes dispatched worldwide from the port in the same month. The total tonnage reached 54.2 million tonnes in June, 4.3% higher on month and also on year, the PPA results show.

Generally, Australian iron ore miners had a hectic month in June fulfilling shipments to global destinations, striving to deliver satisfying first half or full fiscal year business results, a Shanghai-based market watcher explained.

Meanwhile, iron ore demand among Chinese steelmakers also appeared firm in June, many having brought blast furnaces back on stream that month, Mysteel Global learned. The capacity utilization rate of blast furnaces among the 247 Chinese mills monitored by Mysteel averaged 89.76% during June 14-20, a year-to-date high.

Significantly, the Hedland ore shipped to China accounted for 89.4% of the port's total shipments globally in June, up by more than two percentage points from that in May, Mysteel Global calculated.

South Korea was the second largest destination for Hedland iron ore exports after China in June, though the volume was lower. Total iron ore shipments bound for South Korea from the port declined by 4.5% from May and 6% from June last year to reach 27.3 million tonnes.

In the same month, total iron ore tonnage shipped to Japan via the port picked up by 3.7% on month to 17.6 million tonnes, but the volume was 9.3% lower compared with June last year.

Written by Irene Zhuang, [email protected]

Edited by Russ McCulloch, [email protected]