In December this year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland increased by 7.8 percent compared to November and were up 26 percent year on year, totaling 37.12 million metric tons.
According to the information released by Port Hedland Port Authority, in December of the current year iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to China amounted to 30.63 million metric tons, increasing by 5.5 percent compared to previous month and up 26.8 percent year on year. Japan and South Korea followed China in December, receiving 2.86 million mt and 1.89 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.