US iron ore shipments down nine percent in August

According to the Mineral Industry Survey released by the US Geological Survey (USGS), US iron ore production in August this year was 4.35 million mt, increasing slightly compared to July this year and down nine percent year on year. In the first eight months of the year, iron ore production in the US totaled 33.9 million mt, falling 4.8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
 
Iron ore shipments in the US in August totaled 5.2 million mt, down nine percent compared to July and falling by 4.4 percent compared to August 2011. In the first eight months of the year, US iron ore shipments rose 3.7 percent to 33.8 million mt, compared to January-August 2011.
 
In August this year, US iron ore exports amounted to 1.03 million mt, falling one percent month on month. Canada was the largest iron ore export destination of the US in August, totaling 603,000 metric tons, down 7.2 percent compared to July, while exports to China amounted to 351,000 metric tons, rising by 12.1 percent over the previous month.