In December last year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland increased by 6.7 percent compared to November and were up 17 percent year on year, totaling 43.93 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 37.39 million metric tons, rising by 11 percent compared to the previous month and increasing by 16.2 percent year on year. South Korea and Japan followed China in December, receiving 3.29 million mt and 1.74 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.