In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “2025 was another positive year for global seaborne iron ore trade. In Jan-Dec 2025, global loadings of iron ore increased by +3.5% y-o-y to 1,732.0 mln tonnes, based on AXS Marine vessel tracking data. 2026 has continued on a positive note, with export volumes up by +1.8% y-o-y in Jan-Jul 2026 to 978.3 mln tonnes. Exports from Australia increased in Jan-Jul 2026 by +2.3% y-o-y to 547.8 mln tonnes. From Brazil, exports increased by +1.2% y-o-y in Jan-Jul 2026 to 216.7 mln t. From Canada there was a -11.5% yo-y decline to 30.2 mln tonnes. From South Africa volumes increased +2.8% y-o-y to 31.8 mln t. India saw an increase of +7.1% y-o-y in Jan-Jul 2026 to 17.2 mln t. From Norway exports increased by +2.7% y-o-y to 12.4 mln t”.
According to the shipbroker, “demand is still driven primarily by Mainland China, which accounts for 75% of imports. Iron ore imports into China increased by +2.4% y-o-y in Jan-Jul 2026 to 729.2 mln tonnes. Imports into Japan declined by -2.7% y-o-y to 52.5 mln t. To the EU, imports were essentially flat at 41.6 mln t. Volumes into South Korea were stable, -0.1% y-o-y to 41.3 mln t. Imports into Malaysia increased by +4.5% y-o-y to 15.5 mln tonnes. To Vietnam volumes were up by +15.3% y-o-y to 15.5 mln t. To Oman, volumes were down -28.7% y-o-y to 5.7 mln t, to Saudi Arabia down by -61.5% y-o-y to 2.5 mln t, to Bahrain -84.1% y-o-y to 1.3 mln t. Australia is by far the world’s largest exporter of iron ore, with a 56.0% market share in Jan-Jul 2026, well ahead of Brazil’s 22.1%, South Africa’s 3.2%, and Canada’s 3.1%”.
Banchero Costa added that “export volumes from Australia have been relatively stable in recent years, with moderate increases. In 2020, iron ore exports from Australia surged by +4.1% y-o-y to 903.0 mln tonnes. This was followed by a -0.3% y-o-y decline in 2021 to 900.0 mln t, then a +0.8% y-o-y increase in 2022 to 907.2 mln t, a +1.4% y-o-y increase in 2023 to 919.8 mln t, a +1.1% y-o-y increase in 2024 to 929.8 mln t, and a +2.5% y-o-y increase in 2025 to 953.2 mln t. In Jan-Jul 2026, shipments from Australia increased by +2.3% y-o-y to 547.8 mln t, from 535.4 mln t in the same period of 2025. The main iron ore export terminals in Australia are: Port Hedland (324.1 mln t loaded in Jan-Jul 2026), Port Walcott (95.1 mln t), Dampier (83.8 mln t), Ashburton (18.8 mln t), Geraldton (7.9 mln t), Cape Preston (5.7 mln t), Whyalla (4.1 mln t), Esperance (3.1 mln t), Koolan Island (1.5 mln t). The vast majority (79.9% in Jan-Jul 2026) of iron ore volumes from Australia are loaded on Capesize and Newcastlemax vessels (i.e. vessels in the 120-220k dwt range), with 14.3% on VLOCs, 3.8% on Post-Panamaxes, and 1.2% 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-Jul 2026. Exports to Mainland China from Australia increased by +1.1% y-o-y to 460.1 mln t in Jan-Jul 2026, from 455.0 mln tonnes in Jan-Jul 2025. The second largest destination for Australian ore is now Japan, with a 5.6% share in 2026. Shipments from Australia to Japan increased by +5.3% y-o-y to 30.7 mln t in Jan-Jul 2026, from 29.1 mln t in Jan-Jul 2025. Exports to South Korea increased by +4.3% y-o-y to 30.6 mln t in Jan-Jul 2026. Volumes from Australia to Taiwan increased by +14.4% y-o-y to 8.5 mln tonnes in Jan-Jul 2026. To Vietnam volumes of Australian iron ore increased by +5.1% y-o-y to 7.9 mln tonnes in Jan-Jul 2026”, the shipbroker concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
