Global iron ore shipments remained relatively stable in August 2026. Despite subdued demand from the key importer, China, the leading producing countries showed predominantly positive or neutral trends, with the exception of South Africa. This is reported by BigMint.
The general caution in market sentiment was driven by several key factors: restrictions on the use of low-grade ore in the PRC, scheduled maintenance work at Chinese steelworks, and a significant rise in the price of raw materials such as coking coal.
The rise in coke costs has significantly reduced steelmakers’ profit margins, forcing iron ore exporters to adopt a more cautious approach and abandon aggressive sales growth on the spot market.
August figures by country:
- Australia (+9.5% month-on-month). Exports of iron ore and pellets rose to 79.6 million tonnes in August, compared with 72.5 million tonnes in July. The largest importers were China (65.3 million tonnes), South Korea (5.1 million tonnes) and Japan (4.7 million tonnes). Rio Tinto (29.5 million tonnes), BHP (26.7 million tonnes) and FMG (16 million tonnes) remain the leading exporters.
- Brazil (no change over the month). Exports remained at 36.3 million tonnes (compared with 36.33 million tonnes in July), but fell by 13% compared with August 2025. Key export markets: China (25.96 million tonnes), India (1.58 million tonnes) and Malaysia (1.5 million tonnes). There was increased demand in Asia for medium- and high-grade fine coal as a cost-effective alternative to expensive coal products.
- South Africa (-9.9% month-on-month). Export volumes fell to 4.94 million tonnes due to reduced demand from China (2.64 million tonnes), falling global prices, rail restrictions and loading delays at ports.
- India (+7.5% month-on-month). Total exports of ore and pellets rose to 2.15 million tonnes. However, shipments of iron ore alone fell by 22.8% to 0.95 million tonnes due to the monsoon season, which hampered mining operations, and weak global prices. China remains the main destination (1.63 million tonnes).
In the short term, export volumes from Australia may be held back by localised strikes by workers at the key port of Hedland. In India, sales are expected to pick up following the end of the monsoon season, although stricter safety regulations on the east coast may slow down the pace of ship loading. High-grade Brazilian ore stands a good chance of increasing its market share, as steelworks seek to optimise costs amid high coal prices. Exports from South Africa are likely to remain subdued due to ongoing logistical barriers
As reported by GMK Center, the Brazilian mining company Vale produced 84.3 million tonnes of iron ore in the second quarter of 2026 (including 76 million tonnes from its own operations), which is 0.8% (0.7 million tonnes) more than in the same period last year.
