Iron ore shipments from Western Australia's (WA) Pilbara region slid on the year in December, driven by a decline in exports to most major markets.
Australian miners shipped 61.3mn t of iron from Dampier and Port Hedland over December 2024, Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA) data show, down by 2.1pc on the year. Exports from Dampier rose by 7.8pc on the year in December, but this did not offset a 4.7pc decline at the larger Port Hedland.
Combined exports from Port Hedland and Dampier were 2.8pc higher in 2024 than they were in 2023. Shipments from Dampier grew by 3pc over the year, above exports from Port Hedland which rose by 2.6pc.
Multiple WA mines continued ramping up their operations over the year, boosting domestic output. Many of them will keep increasing production throughout 2025, according to iron producers. Port Hedland services major miners BHP, Fortescue, Roy Hill, Hancock Prospecting, and Mineral Resources, while Rio Tinto exports ore from Port Dampier and Port Walcott.
Declines in December exports from Port Hedland were spread relatively evenly across most markets, except for India. Shipments to China and South Korea — the port's two largest export markets in December — plunged by 2.6pc and 20pc on the year, respectively, to 41.8mn t and 2.8mn t. The two countries accounted for 93.7pc of Port Hedland exports last month.
But exports from Port Hedland to India more than doubled from 379,383t a year earlier to 770,692t in December, underscoring the market's increasing importance to Australian producers. Two major Indian steelmakers, Tata Steel and JSW Steel, boosted production over October-December, after expanding their existing plants.
But there are signs that Chinese demand for Australian iron ore may have started to recover since the end of December, with shipping records indicating that exports from WA to China rose by 8pc on the year over the first two weeks of January to 25.5mn t.
But ore shipments to north Asia have continued to drop in January, with Australia's combined exports to Japan and South Korea falling by 8.1pc on the year to just 3.6mn t over the first half of the month.
Argus' iron ore fines 62pc Fe cfr Qingdao price dropped from $133.30/t to $98.50/t over 2024. The price averaged just $105.30/t in December 2024, down from $134.50/t a year earlier.
Pilbara Iron Exports | mn t | ||||
Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Nov'24 | Jan-Dec '24 | Jan-Dec '23 | |
Port Hedland | 47.6 | 49.9 | 48.8 | 568.7 | 554.3 |
Dampier | 13.7 | 12.7 | 13.0 | 499.0 | 484.5 |
Total | 61.3 | 62.6 | 61.8 | 1,067.7 | 1,038.8 |
PPA |