In December last year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland rose by 5.02 percent compared to November and were up 13.34 percent year on year, totaling 29.46 million metric tons.
According to the information released by Port Hedland Port Authority, in December iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to China amounted to 24.16 million metric tons, increasing by 8.25 percent compared to November and up 19.44 percent compared to the same month of 2012. Japan and South Korea followed China in December last year, receiving 2.07 million mt and 2.02 million mt respectively.
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.