According to Port Hedland Port Authority, in January this year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland increased by 13.5% year on year and were down by 18.5% month on month, totaling 17.4 million metric tones.

According to the released information, iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to China amounted to 14 million metric tonnes in January, decreasing by 15.8% compared to December 2011 and up 40.45% YoY.

South Korea was the second largest export destination for iron ore shipments from Port Hedland in January, with shipments totaling 1.6 million tonnes, up 1.2% year on year and down 8.6% compared to December.

Meanwhile, iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to Japan amounted to 1.3 million metric tons in January, decreasing by 39% compared to December 2011 and down 53.7% year on year.

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.

(Sourced from www.steelorbis.com)