In May this year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland increased by 3.54 percent compared to April and were up 29.23 percent year on year, totaling 36.05 million metric tons.

According to the information released by Port Hedland Port Authority, in May iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to China amounted to 29.90 million metric tons, increasing by 3.51 percent compared to April and up 28.16 percent compared to the same month of 2013. South Korea and Japan followed China in March this year, receiving 2.96 million mt and 2.48 million mt respectively.

Port Hedland handles production from mines owned by BHP Billiton, Atlas Iron and Fortescue Metals Group in the iron ore-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia.