SYDNEY – Iron-ore shipments to China in January from Australia's Port Hedland terminal fell 11.3% from a month ago to 34.7-million tonnes, their lowest since July, port data released on Tuesday showed.
That compares with 39.1-million tonnes in December. January imports were 0.6% higher than a year ago, the data showed.
Total January iron ore shipments from the world's biggest export terminal for the steelmaking raw material totalled 41.1-million tonnes versus 46.2-million tonnes the previous month, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority.
Port Hedland is used by three of Australia's top four iron-ore miners, BHP, Fortescue Metals Group and Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting. Rio Tinto, uses the nearby Dampier and Cape Lambert ports to ship iron-ore.