The Global Iron Ore Market is Projected to Reach 2.3 Billion Metric Tons by 2024

India Coupled With Other Emerging Markets to Offset the Slowdown in Chinese Iron Ore Consumption, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

GIA launches comprehensive analysis of industry segments, trends, growth drivers, market share, size and demand forecasts on the global Iron Ore markets. The global Iron Ore market is projected to reach 2.3 billion metric tons by 2024, driven by increasing consumption in India, Turkey and other emerging markets, even as Chinese consumption slows down.

Iron (Fe), which comprises about 5% of the Earth's crust, is a natural and extremely useful metallic element. It is the most commonly used metal in the world, finding utility in various applications such as industrial, maritime, structural engineering, and automobiles. Though, iron-rich rocks are common in several countries across the globe, the constraint of commercial mining lies in the location of the ore in relation to the market, which indicates the cost associated with energy and the rail infrastructure required for making the ore to reach the market. Consumption of iron ore is directly related to steel demand as more than 98% of the output is used for the production of crude steel, and any fluctuation in steel sector, upward or downward or moderate, would cast a parallel impact on the iron ore sector. Closely tracking the tide in the steel sector, the global iron ore industry has been a witness to extreme intense activity over the last few years.

China has single handedly been the driver of the steel and iron ore markets for about two decades. The country is the largest consumer and importer of iron ore in the world. Due to the presence of low-grade iron ore reserves, China is primarily dependent on other countries to meet domestic demand. However, as the Chinese economy moves to a consumption-led market from being driven by investments, steel intensity in the Chinese economy is expected to reduce and result in decline in steel consumption. While the Chinese growth story has lost steam, and Chinese steel production is expected to decline in future, significant investments in developed markets for infrastructure upgrades and development, as well as increasing demand from developing markets is expected to drive steel demand in future, and resultantly provide stable opportunities for iron ore suppliers. On the supply side, most of the major capacity increases that were planned during the boom period, have reached completion or are in the final stages of completion. With Chinese demand expected to decline, new capacity additions at major mining hubs in Australia and Brazil are expected to be marginal, and mostly aimed at replacing older capacity.

Global Iron Ore production and trade is dominated by Australia and Brazil, which together account for about 55% of production and over 75% of exports. Other major iron ore producing countries include China, India, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, Canada, and the US. In terms of reserves, Australia, Russia, Brazil, China, and India account for about 75% of global reserves. However, the quality and iron content in ores differs by country, with India and South Africa possessing ores with the highest concentration of iron, while Ukraine, China, and the US possess ores with some of the lowest quantities of iron. In terms of imports, China dominates the global sea borne iron ore market, accounting for about two-thirds of global imports. Despite the slowdown in and expected decline in Chinese steel production, China is expected to continue to dominate global imports and consumption of iron ore.

As stated by the new market research report on Iron Ore, China represents the largest market worldwide, followed Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan and China) region. However, Chinese steel production, and subsequently, consumption of iron ore projected to decline over the analysis period. India is expected to be the next growth driver of global iron ore consumption, and alleviate the expected decline in Chinese consumption. Driven by India, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan and China) region is forecast to witness the fastest growth among all regions, with a CAGR of 5.4% over the analysis period. Other emerging markets, such as Turkey, Russia, and Latin American countries are also expected to drive consumption of iron ore.

Key players in the market include Anglo American Plc, ArcelorMittal S.A., BHP Billiton Group, Champion Iron Limited, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., Ferrexpo plc, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., Hainan Mining Co., Ltd., Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd, Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB, Mechel PAO, Metalloinvest MC LLC, Minmetals HANXING Mines Ltd., Rio Tinto Group, Shandong Jinshunda Group Co., Ltd., United States Steel Corporation, and Vale S.A. among others.

The research report titled "Iron Ore: A Global Strategic Business Report" announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, growth drivers, innovations and launches, and strategic industry activities of major companies worldwide. In addition, detailed overview of the steel industry provides a downstream perspective of the factors affecting the iron ore market. The report provides market estimates and projections in thousand metric tons for all major geographic markets including the US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Rest of Europe), China, Asia-Pacific (India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America).

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