Iron ore exports on the rise

Iron ore exports travelling out of the Port of Port Hedland have risen since the same time last year.

A Pilbara Ports Authority spokeswoman said iron ore exports had increased by 8 per cent compared to March last year at the port.

“PPA has delivered a total monthly throughput of 57.5 million tonnes for the month of March, 2018 — this was an increase of 5 per cent from the same month in 2017,” she said.

“The Port of Port Hedland achieved a monthly throughput of 42.9 million tonnes, an increase of 9 per cent from the previous year.

“Imports through the Port of Port Hedland totalled 134,000 tonnes — a decrease of 5 per cent from the same month in 2017.”

The Port of Dampier suffered decreases across the board, with total monthly throughput of 14.2Mt, an 8 per cent reduction on 2017, and imports totalling 79,000 tonnes were also down 8 per cent from the same time last year.

Ninety-five per cent of exports from the PPA were iron ore-related in 2016-2017, with liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas making up 4 per cent and salt 0.5 per cent, among other exports.

Imports in the same period were 75 per cent fuels, 16 per cent were general cargo, one per cent was ammonium nitrate, and 8 per cent were other goods.