US Iron Ore Exports Skyrocketed in August

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade data released by the US Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Census suggests significant jump in iron ore exports by the country during the month of August this year. The cumulative exports during the initial eight-month period too rose considerably over the previous year.

The US exported 1.563 million tonnes of iron ore during the month of August this year. The monthly export volumes surged higher by over 59% when matched with the corresponding month a year before. The country’s iron ore exports had totaled 982,649 tonnes in August last year. The total exports were valued at $108.3 million, higher by nearly 72% year-over-year. The average export price surged higher by 8.4% from $63.90 per tonne in August 2016 to $69.30 per tonne in August this year.

The top three export destinations of ore exported from the US during the month were Canada, Japan and Mexico. Canada- the top export destination imported 1.168 million tonnes of iron ore from the US, accounting for almost three-fourth of the total US ore exports during the month. The ore exports to Canada averaged at $73.0 per tonne. In second place was Japan with imports of 394,330 tonnes. The exports to Mexico totaled 233 tonnes in August 2017.

The exports of non-agglomerated ore by the US totaled 11,602 tonnes in August this year. The exports were down significantly by nearly 62% when matched with the year ago month. The country’s exports had totaled 30,738 tonnes in August last year. The value of non-agglomerated ore exports totaled $1.909 million. The export prices averaged at $164.50 per tonne, significantly higher by 51.2% when compared with $108.9 per tonne in August last year.

The top importer of non-agglomerated ore from the US during the month was Canada. The Canadian imports of non-agglomerated iron ore from the US totaled 11,443 tonnes, followed by Mexico with 159 tonnes.

Agglomerated ore exports by the US totaled 1.551 million tonnes, recording sharp increase of over 63% upon comparison with the previous year. The net value of exports amounted to $106.3 million. The agglomerated ore exports averaged at $68.5 per tonne in August.

Canada was the primary importer of agglomerated ore from the US. The exports to the neighboring country totaled 1.157 million tonnes during the month, representing nearly 75% of the total agglomerated ore exports by the US. Japan (394,330 tonnes) and Mexico (74 tonnes) were the other primary export destinations.

The US exported 6.76 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material during the first eight months of the current year. Out of this, agglomerated ore exports totaled 6.658 million tonnes, whereas the balance 104,798 tonnes accounted for non-agglomerated exports.