Iron ore demand remains strong despite Japanese earthquake

Australian miner Rio Tinto has said that the market for iron ore remains strong despite uncertainty about the impact on global demand due to the Japanese earthquake.
 
"The iron ore market is still strong - we're still shipping as hard as we can," Sam Walsh, chief executive of Rio Tinto's iron ore unit, has told Dow Jones Newswires.
One of Sumitomo Metal Industries' steel works has been affected in Japan, he said, though adding "at this point in time we are shipping as per normal."
 
Asked whether the company has diverted any cargoes to Japan, Mr Walsh said, "Our big issue has been with the three cyclones we've had this year and the three tropical lows."
 
"Our production has been impacted, so we are still very much in catch-up mode," he stated Mr. Walsh declined to quantify how much production has been affected, though mines have been running on full stockpiles, so "that allows us the maximum ability to catch up," he said.