Australia-China Iron Ore Route

The bulk sea lane from Australia's Pilbara to Chinese mills, the world's largest dry bulk trade flow.

Overview

China buys roughly 70 percent of seaborne iron ore, and the Pilbara trio of Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue supplies the largest share of it. Port Hedland alone exports over 500 million tonnes a year, the biggest bulk export port on earth, loading capesize ships of 180,000 deadweight tonnes for the 10 to 14 day run to Chinese ports. Pricing benchmarks to the 62 percent iron content index, and the trade underwrites Australia's terms of trade and budget. Both governments understand the strategic asymmetry: a dependency each side watches the other hold.