Canada's iron exports up marginally during August

TORONTO (Scrap Monster): The latest export data published by Statistics Canada indicate that iron ore shipments from the country were marginally up during the month of August this year. The provincial export statistics suggest 0.9% rise in exports during the month. The exports of concentrates have increased by 1.7%, whereas those of pellets witnessed a marginal decline of 0.9% during the month when matched with the previous year.

The concentrate exports totaled 2.335 million tonnes during the month, higher by 1.7% when compared with the exports of 2.296 million tonnes during August 2014. Newfoundland & Labrador accounted for bulk of those exports. The iron ore concentrates exports from the province totaled 1.202 million tonnes, followed by Quebec with 1.133 million tonnes and British Columbia with 683 tonnes. The total value of concentrates exports amounted to $128.2 million, significantly lower by almost 42% when compared with the value of exports during the same month a year ago. The value of concentrates exports during August last year had totaled $220.5 million. The price of exports plunged nearly 43% over the year from $96.1 per tonne in August 2014 to $54.9 per tonne in August this year.

The pellets exports totaled 1.126 million tonnes during the month, marginally lower by 0.9% when compared with the exports of 1.136 million tonnes during August 2014.  The iron ore pellets exports from Newfoundland & Labrador totaled 624,777 tonnes, followed by Quebec with 500,908 tonnes and Ontario with 74 tonnes. The total value of pellets exports amounted to $99.3 million, down by 18.4% when compared with the value of exports during the same month a year ago. The value of pellets exports during August last year had totaled $121.7 million. The price of exports has declined by 17.7% over the previous year.

The combined iron ore exports from all provinces totaled 3.461 million tonnes during August, marginally higher by 0.9% over 3.432 million tonnes during the same month last year. The value of exports totaled $227.5 million. The export prices averaged at $65.7 per tonne.

The cumulative iron ore exports tumbled by 10.2% over the year to 23.984 million tonnes during the initial eight-month period in 2015. The value of exports dropped sharply by almost one-third to $1,835.8 million. The export prices averaged at $76.5 per tonne during the eight-month period.