In May this year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland increased by 8.7 percent month on month and were up by 41.7 percent year on year, totaling 22.5 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 17.4 million metric tons in May, increasing by 17.4 percent compared to April and up 55.4 percent year on year. Japan was the second largest export destination for iron ore shipments from Port Hedland in May, with shipments totaling 2.73 million metric tons, up by 29.5 percent year on year and down 0.7 percent compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to South Korea amounted to 1.8 million metric tons in May, decreasing by 15.6 percent compared to April this year and up five 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.