According to the Mineral Industry Survey released by the US Geological Survey (USGS), US iron ore production in July this year was 4.25 million mt, increasing slightly compared to June this year and down 9.6 percent year on year. In the first seven months of the year, the iron ore production in the US totaled 29.6 million mt, falling 3.9 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
Iron ore shipments in the US in July totaled 5.73 million mt, up 8.7 percent compared to June and falling by 2.2 percent compared to July 2011. In the first seven months of the year, US iron ore shipments rose 5.5 percent to 28.6 million mt, compared to January-July 2011.
In July this year, US iron ore exports amounted to 1.04 million mt, Canada being the largest iron ore export destination of the country, totaling 650,000 metric tons, while exports to China amounted to 313,000 metric tons.