In February this year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland increased by 52.4 percent year on year and were up by 12.5 percent month on month, totaling 19.6 million metric tons, according to Port Hedland Port Authority.
According to the released information, iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to China amounted to 14.6 million metric tons in February, increasing by 4.1 percent compared to January and up 61.45 percent year on year. South Korea was the second largest export destination for iron ore shipments from Port Hedland in February, with shipments totaling 2.65 million metric tons, up 72.9 percent year on year and up 61.2 percent compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to Japan amounted to 1.5 million metric tons in February, increasing by 17.35 percent compared to January this year and up 4.1 percent year on year.
Port Hedland handles production from mines owned by BHP Billiton, Atlas Iron and Fortescue Metals Group in the iron ore-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia.