Tag: iron ore

BIMCO's Chief Shipping Analyst, Peter Sand, launched the analysis 'It's the steel production, stupid!', announcing the end of China iron ore cape run. The analysis focuses on the fact that Chinese imports of iron ore are continuously decreasing, whereas the nation’s crude steel production keeps growing. 

Australian mining operations have suffered some disruption after two cyclones hit the country over the weekend, mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals informed. Meanwhile, key iron ore ports remained closed, but Pilbara Ports Authority said it has re-opened the Ports of Hedland and Ashburton on 26 March.

A Brazilian court has ordered Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore miner, to suspend operations at two more dams. The court demanded the company to prove the structures are stable, following an accident in the Vale's facilities in January that killed about 300 people.

Drewry published an analysis on iron ore inventories at Chinese ports and the uncertainty that exists at the global economy that threatens the demand of capesizes. Rahul Sharan, Drewry's Lead Research Analyst, expects that the demand for capesizes in 2019 will be proportional to iron ore inventories at Chinese ports.

High iron ore inventories at Chinese ports and uncertainty in the global economy are putting the demand for Capesizes at risk. Drewry believes that demand for Capesizes in 2019 will be proportional to iron ore inventories at Chinese ports. Despite the fact that Chinese steel production will increase in 2019, a further reduction in iron ore inventories could negatively affect the demand for dry bulk vessels.

Port of Rotterdam's throughput in 2018 resulted to 469.0 million tonnes, a little bit higher than 2017. Container transhipment reached a 4.5% increase in tonnage, whereas measured in TEUs, the standard unit for containers, increased by 5.7% and the annual total was 14.5 million TEUs.

The Pilbara Ports Authority will cooperate with Jan De Nul Group to dredge the channel and further improve the safe and sustainable access to the Port of Port Hedland. The project is part of the Channel Risk and Optimisation Project that aims to sustain the long-operation, development, and future growth of the port.

According to Reuters, iron ore shipments from Australia's port of Hedland terminal to China, experienced an increase by 14% in December from the previous month as shown by the port's data. Iron ore shipments to China from the world’s biggest iron ore port reached an overall of 37.4 million tonnes in December. On the contrary, iron ore shipments in November reached a total of 32.9 million tonnes, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority.

China’s iron ore imports decreased for a second month in November, driven mainly by reduced restocking demand at steel mills due to narrow profit margins. Namely, China imported 86.25 million tonnes of iron, which is a decrease of 2.4% from October.

According to BIMCO, the dry bulk shipping industry is still on the road to recovery, as demand continues to be more that the fleet growth. In the mean time, scrapping and ordering remain low. The improved situation during 2017 is seen in the freight rate levels during the first four months of 2018.