Iron ore shipments leaving Port Hedland, Western Australia in September rose 2% month on month to 48.8 million tonnes, driven primarily by an increase in ore being shipped to China, according to data released by Pilbara Ports today (15 October).
Shipments of iron ore designated for China totalled 44.5 million tonnes in September, which was a 3.7-million-tonne (9.1%) increase on August numbers, accounting for 91.1% of total shipments from Port Hedland.
Exports of iron ore bound for Japan and Korea both fell over the month, with total volumes to Korea 33.4% lower (1.196 million tonnes) while Japan witnessed a 35% (556,540 tonnes) decline.
Year-to-date volumes of iron ore leaving Port Hedland for the nine months to September totalled 426.8 million tonnes.
| Top Five Destinations | September-2024 | August-2024 | September-2023 | Change | MoM % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 44,451,430 | 40,734,572 | 39,382,016 | 3,716,858 | 9.1 |
| Korea, Republic of | 2,390,186 | 3,587,083 | 3,113,463 | -1,196,897 | -33.4 |
| Japan | 1,033,546 | 1,590,086 | 1,008,214 | -556,540 | -35.0 |
| Vietnam | 351,561 | 687,551 | 353,571 | -335,990 | -48.9 |
| Indonesia | 269,784 | 650,003 | 364,036 | -380,219 | -58.5 |
Images: Pilbara Ports
