US Iron Ore exports and imports surged higher in April

By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

July 07, 2016 04:50:19 AM

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): According to trade statistics released by the US Department of Commerce (DOC), the country’s iron ore exports and imports surged higher during the month of April this year. The imports were up by 41%, whereas exports jumped higher by 14%. Meantime, the cumulative iron ore exports and imports during initial four months of the year dropped when compared with the previous year.

The US iron ore exports during April this year totaled 584,195 tonnes, rising significantly by 13.8% when compared with the exports during the same month a year before. The exports had totaled 513,508 tonnes during April 2015. The average price of export dropped by 25% to $67.7 per tonne when matched with the average export price of $90.3 per tonne during April last year. Also, the total value of exports dropped sharply by 15% from $46.365 million to $39.558 million.

The largest importer of iron ore from the US during the month was Canada. The imports of US iron ore by the country totaled 584,181 tonnes, accounting for bulk of total exports by the US during the month. The exports from the US to Canada averaged at $67.7 per tonne. The value of exports totaled $39.520 million. The other key importer of iron ore from the US during the month was Mexico (145 tonnes).

The agglomerated iron ore exports during April ’16 totaled 584,181 tonnes, rising significantly by 26.0% over the previous year. Canada was the key importer of agglomerated iron ore from the US during the month with 584,184 tonnes. The other main destination of agglomerated iron ore from the US was Mexico (14 tonnes).

The non-agglomerated iron ore exports by the US totaled 176 tonnes, dropping sharply by 99.6% from 49,978 tonnes in April 2015. Mexico was the primary importer of non-agglomerated iron ore during the month. The Mexican imports of agglomerated iron ore from the US totaled 131 tonnes.

The imports of iron ore by the US during April this year totaled 260,241 tonnes, rising significantly by 41.1% when compared with the imports during the same month a year before. The imports had totaled 184,408 tonnes during April 2015. The average price of import dropped by 46.3% to $69.6 per tonne when matched with the average import price of $129.5 per tonne during April last year. Also, the total value of imports dropped marginally by 4.3% from $774.188 million to $740.903 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to the US during the month was Brazil. The imports of Brazilian iron ore by the country totaled 95,323 tonnes, accounting for almost 37% of total imports by the US during the month. The imports from Brazil averaged at $68.1 per tonne. The value of imports totaled $6.493 million. The other key exporter of iron ore to the US during the month was Canada (89,834 tonnes).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during April ’16 totaled 207,061 tonnes, rising significantly by 12.3% over the previous year. Sweden was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to the US during the month with 74,963 tonnes. The other main sources of agglomerated iron ore were Brazil (67,873 tonnes) and Canada (64,225 tonnes). The non-agglomerated iron ore imports by the US totaled 53,180 tonnes during April this year.

The cumulative iron ore exports during the initial four months of the current year dropped by 12.4% year-on-year to 1.612 million tonnes. The imports during Jan-Apr ’16 totaled 740,903 tonnes, marginally down by 4.3% when compared with the previous year.