Iron Ore Imports by the US Increased Twofold in July

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The most recent trade statistics released by the US Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Census indicates that the country’s iron ore imports skyrocketed during the month of July this year. The cumulative imports during the first seven months of the year too surged higher significantly when compared with the year before.

The US iron ore imports in July this year totaled 666,475 tonnes, higher by 112% when matched with the reported imports of 314,790 tonnes in the same month last year. The key suppliers of iron ore to the US were Brazil, Sweden and Canada. These top three exporting nations accounted for nearly 98% of the total imports by the US. The imports from Brazil totaled 310,630 tonnes and were valued at $25.15 million. The US imported 178,868 tonnes and 160,998 tonnes of iron ore from Sweden and Canada respectively.

Out of this, imports of agglomerated ore by the US totaled 447,285 tonnes, constituting 67% of the monthly imports. Brazil was the leading exporter of agglomerated iron ore to the US in July 2017. The imports from Brazil totaled 241,293 tonnes, followed by Sweden with 101,161 tonnes. The monthly imports recorded 193% jump over the year. The US imports of agglomerated ore had totaled only 152,751 tonnes in July last year.

The non-agglomerated ore imports by the US rose 35% year-on-year to total 219,190 tonnes. The imports from Brazil totaled 69,337 tonnes and were valued at $8.86 million. The imports from that country averaged at $127.80 per tonne. The second largest exporter of non-agglomerated ore from the US was Sweden. The imports from the country totaled 77,707 tonnes, followed by Canada with 72,146 tonnes.

As per Census Bureau data, the combined iron ore imports by the US during the first seven months of the year totaled 3.82 million tonnes, significantly higher by 122% when matched with the imports of 1.72 million tonnes recorded during the corresponding period in 2016. The largest supplier during the seven-month period was Brazil. The imports from Brazil totaled 2.4 million tonnes.

The agglomerated ore imports during Jan-July’17 totaled 2.371 million tonnes. This is considerably higher by 333% when matched with the imports of 547,452 tonnes during the corresponding period last year. Japan was the key exporter during this period, followed by Canada and Norway.

The non-agglomerated ore imports during the seven-month period recorded 24% jump over the previous year to total 1.447 million tonnes. The value of imports amounted to $157.83 million at an average of USD 109.0 per tonne. The US imported non-agglomerated ore mainly from Brazil.