Top iron-ore port ships half billion tons as bears call time

Iron-ore cargoes from Australia’s Port Hedland, the world’s biggest bulk export terminal, jumped to an all-time high of almost half a billion metric tons last year, offering fresh evidence of burgeoning global supply at a time when bearish forecasts for the commodity are stacking up. Exports from the port, which handles material for BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Roy Hill Holdings, climbed 5% to 46.1-million tons in December to set a monthly record, according to Pilbara Ports Authority figures on Tuesday. For all of last year, shipments were 497-million tons, up from 479-million in 2016, according to Bloomberg calculations.