In July this year, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland increased by 7.39 percent compared to June and were up 35.59 percent year on year, totaling 36.08 million metric tons. The figure constitutes a 4.8 percent rise from Port Hedland's previous all-time record monthly export volume of 34.43 million metric tons recorded in March this year.

According to the information released by Port Hedland Port Authority, in July iron ore shipments made from Port Hedland to China amounted to a record monthly volume of 30.57 million metric tons, increasing by 4.74 percent compared to June and up 49.72 percent compared to the same month of 2013. Japan and South Korea followed China in July this year, receiving 2.38 million mt and 2.03 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.