In May this year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland increased by 5.5 percent compared to April and were up two percent year on year, totaling 44.97 million metric tons.
According to the information released by Port Hedland Port Authority, in May iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to China amounted to 36.99 million metric tons, rising by 2.3 percent compared to the previous month and decreasing by 2.6 percent year on year. South Korea and Japan followed China in May, receiving 3.57 million mt and 2.37 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.