Australian Iron Ore and Coal Exports in March

Coal, Iron Ore

Iron ore shipments from Australia climbed by 19.3 Mt year-on-year to 78.9 Mt (wet basis) in March, the highest since December 2019, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Shipments to China rose by 15.1 Mt on the year to 64.6 Mt in March. However, cyclone Veronica disrupted exports in March 2019. Australia’s total 1q20 exports grew to 207.7 Mt (+11.9 Mt from 1q19).

Coking coal exports from Australia dropped by 2.5 Mt year-on-year to 14.1 Mt in March, although shipments rose from a ten-month low of 13.8 Mt in February, customs data show. The country’s steam coal exports gained by 1.8 Mt on the year to just shy of 18.0 Mt in March.