US Shipped 80% More Iron Ore in July

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The most recent import statistics released by the US Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Census suggests that the country’s iron ore exports skyrocketed during the month of July this year. The combined exports during the initial seven-month period of the year too surged higher in comparison with the previous year.

The US iron ore exports in July this year totaled 940,949 tonnes, higher by 79.5% when matched with the exports of 524,351 tonnes recorded during the same month last year. Canada and Japan were the main destinations of US iron ore exports during the month. These two countries accounted for more than 96% of the total exports by the US. The shipments to Canada totaled 614,542 tonnes and were valued at $50.57 million. Japan’s imports totaled 289,939 tonnes.

The agglomerated ore exports by the US totaled 31,029 tonnes, accounting for just 3.3% of the total US exports during the month. Austria was the leading importer of agglomerated iron ore from the US in July 2017. The agglomerated ore imports by Austria totaled 21,142 tonnes, followed by Canada with 9,716 tonnes. The agglomerated ore imports during the month surged higher by 445% over the previous year.

The non-agglomerated ore exports by the US rose sharply by 75.4% year-on-year to total 909,920 tonnes. The imports by Canada totaled 604,826 tonnes and were valued at $48.97 million. The exports to Canada averaged at $81.0 per tonne. The second largest importer of non-agglomerated ore from the US was Japan. The imports by Japan totaled 289,939 tonnes.

As per Census Bureau data, the combined iron ore exports by the US during the first seven months of the year totaled 5.200 million tonnes, higher by nearly 43% when matched with the exports of 3.643 million tonnes recorded during the corresponding period in 2016. The largest export destination during the seven-month period was Canada. The imports by Canada totaled 3.681 million tonnes, followed by Japan with 1.329 million tonnes.

The agglomerated ore exports during Jan-July ’17 totaled 93,196 tonnes. This is considerably higher by 365% when matched with the exports of 20,032 tonnes during the corresponding period last year. Japan was the key importer during this period. The imports by Japan totaled 29,956 tonnes. In second place was Austria with imports of 21,142 tonnes of agglomerated ore from the US.

The non-agglomerated ore exports during the seven-month period totaled 5.107 million tonnes. The exports surged higher by 41% from 3.623 million tonnes last year. The value of imports amounted to $349.86 million at an average of USD 68.5 per tonne. The imports by Canada totaled 3.661 million tonnes, followed by Japan with 1.299 million tonnes.