Port Hedland Sep Iron Ore Shipments 14.41 Million Tons
October 06 2009 - 9:25PM
Dow Jones News
The Port Hedland Port Authority shipped 14.41 million metric
tons of iron ore in September, according to an update on its Web
site Wednesday.
The exports were up 1.3% on the August total of 14.22 million
tons, and up 28% on the year-ago exports, in September 2008, of
11.08 million tons, the authority said.
The authority did not provide individual break downs for major
port users BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) and Fortescue Metals Group
Ltd. (FMG.AU).
September exports to China, the world's biggest iron ore
importer, fell 4.5% from August to 9.38 million tons, well off the
recent peak of 11.1 million tons recorded in the month of July.
Exports to Japan rose 47% to 2.35 million tons in September.
Port Hedland is BHP's key Australian iron ore port but the
global miner is seeking a joint venture with competitor Rio Tinto
Ltd. (RTP), which exports iron ore from Dampier and Cape
Lambert.
-By Stephen Bell, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires;
61-8-9244-4243; sgbell@bigpond.com