Dry Bulk Market: Australian Iron Ore Exports Reach New All-Time High

Iron ore exports from Australia have been on the rise during 2023, reaching a new all-time high. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “2023 has been so far a positive year for global iron ore trade. In Jan-Nov 2023, global loadings of iron ore increased by +5.4% y-o-y to 1,484.5 mln tonnes, from 1,408.5 in the same period of 2022, based on AXS Marine vessel tracking data. It is also just above the 1,451.7 mln tonnes loaded in Jan-Nov 2021, which was the last all-time record”.

According to Banchero Costa, “exports from Australia increased by +1.5% y-o-y in Jan-Nov 2023 to 836.8 mln tonnes, easily a new all-time record high. From Brazil, exports surged by +7.2% y-o-y in Jan-Nov 2023 to 326.5 mln t. From Canada there was a +6.8% y-oy increase to 53.9 mln tonnes. India also saw an increase of +184.2% y-o-y to 37.8 mln tonnes. From South Africa volumes have been flat +0.0% y-o-y at 48.1 mln t in Jan-Nov 2023”.

Meanwhile, “demand has been poor everywhere except in Mainland China. Imports into China have been up +5.5% y-o-y to 1,100.5 mln tonnes in Jan-Nov 2023. China now accounts for 74.3% of global iron ore imports. Iron ore imports into Japan declined by -5.2% y-o-y in Jan-Nov 2023 to 87.3 mln t. Volumes into South Korea were down by -3.6% y-o-y to 64.8 mln t. To Malaysia volumes were also down by -8.3% y-o-y to 19.2 mln t. Imports into the European Union declined sharply by -10.1% y-o-y in Jan-Nov 2023 to 65.8 mln tonnes, the lowest since 2020. Australia is by far the world’s largest exporter of iron ore, with a 56.4% market share in Jan-Nov 2023, well ahead of Brazil’s 22.0%, Canada’s 3.6%, and South Africa’s 3.2%. In 2020, iron ore exports from Australia surged by +3.3% y-o-y to an all-time record 886.2 mln tonnes”.

“In 2021, Australia’s seaborne iron ore exports declined by -0.4% y-o-y to 883.0 mln tonnes. This was however just a correction from very strong volumes in the previous year. Things improved again in 2022, with export volumes up by +1.5% y-o-y to 896.1 mln t, a new all-time record. In Jan-Nov 2023, loadings from Australia improved marginally by +1.5% y-o-y to 836.8, from 824.2 mln t in the same period of 2022. The main iron ore export terminals in Australia are: Port Hedland (493.2 mln t loaded in Jan-Nov 2023), Port Walcott (165.5 mln t), Dampier (126.8 mln t), Cape Preston (18.5 mln t), Geraldton (10.8 mln t), Esperance (7.9 mln t), Whyalla (7.7 mln t), Koolan Island (3.7 mln t), Port Latta (2.1 mln t). The vast majority (76.1% in Jan-Nov 2023) of iron ore volumes from Australia are loaded on Capesize and Newcastlemax vessels (i.e. vessels in the 120-220k dwt range), with 16.9% on VLOCs, 5.2% on Post-Panamaxes, and 1.4% on Kamsarmaxes.

Mainland China is by far the top iron ore importer from Australia, with a 84.0% share of shipments from Australian ports in Jan-Nov 2023. Exports to China from Australia increased by +1.6% y-o-y to 702.6 mln t in Jan-Nov 2023, from 691.7 mln tonnes in Jan-Nov 2022. This was also well above the 689.6 mln tonnes shipped by Australia to China in Jan-Nov 2020. The second largest destination for Australian ore is Japan, with a 5.9% share this year. Shipments from Australia to Japan declined sharply by -10.1% y-o-y to 49.2 mln t in Jan-Nov 2023, from 54.8 mln t in Jan-Nov 2022. Export to South Korea rebounded by +2.7% y-o-y to 46.8 mln t in Jan-Nov. Volumes from Australia to Taiwan declined by -2.0% y-o-y to 13.3 mln tonnes this year. To Vietnam volumes increased by +0.8%% y-o-y to 9.0 mln tonnes in Jan-Nov 2023. To Indonesia they increased by +14.0% y-o-y to 8.3 mln tonnes from 7.3 mln t in the previous year”, Banchero Costa concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide