EconStats : Iron Ore Prices and Iron Ore Producers

E C O N S T A T S ^TM

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[A] Iron Ore - Annual Contract Prices 1976-2007
[B] Iron Ore - Monthly Spot Price - Fines Only 2007
[C] Iron Ore - Producers
[D] Steel Makers Buyers of iron ore.
[E] Miscellaneous Price Change Observations

[A] Iron Ore - Annual Contract Prices
Note price agreement prices.
Contracts generally made in the spring/early summer between iron ore
producers and steel manufacturers.
The prices given below are prices arranged at the beginning
of May of the given year.
(1) FINES : the most heavily-traded category of iron ore.
(2) LUMP ORE : Lumb ore consists of golfball sized pieces, and has higher iron content than fines.
(3) PELLETS : Iron ore in "pellets" are semi-refined iron ore; blast furnace pellets.

Iron Ore Prices

Notes: Brazil to Europe
Units: US Dollars per ton (dry metric ton).

(1) (2) (3)

fines lump ore pellets
contract
year _____________________________________________________________
1976 | 22.70 43.80 dollars per metric ton or tonne
1977 | 23.00 42.80
1978 | 21.50 36.40
1979 | 23.30 39.90
1980 | 28.10 47.00
1981 | 28.10 43.00
1982 | 32.50 47.50
1983 | 29.00 39.00
1984 | 26.10 36.00
1985 | 26.50 36.00
1986 | 26.20 36.60
1987 | 24.50 36.70
1988 | 23.50 40.30
1989 | 26.50 47.30
1990 | 30.80 51.60
1991 | 33.20 52.10
1992 | 31.60 48.40
1993 | 28.10 33.00 43.60
1994 | 24.40 30.40 43.60
1995 | 26.90 33.30 49.10
1996 | 28.50 35.20 52.40
1997 | 28.80 35.20 52.10
1998 | 29.60 36.20 53.50
1999 | 26.90 32.20 46.40
2000 | 27.60 33.90 49.20
2001 | 28.90 35.10 50.10
2002 | 28.60 34.30 47.30
2003 | 31.40 37.30 52.00
2004 | 37.30 44.40 61.80
2005 | 64.00 79.00 115.50
2006 | 76.20 94.00 112.00
2007 | 83.40 ' Based upon news of 2006 Dec 22 deal between Baosteel and CVRD for one year starting April 1, 2007.
2008 | 132.20 '

Sources : CVRD, Wall Street Journal, US Steel and other steel producers.

[B] Spot Price - Fines Only

Spot prices based upon reports of buyers.

2007-01 75 USD per metric ton or tonne, 2204.83 pounds.
2007-02 82
2007-03 91
2007-04 95
2007-05 100
2007-06 102
2007-07 102
2007-08 125
2007-09 151
2007-10 170
2007-11 180
2007-12 185
2008-01
2008-02 196 (mostly contracts with Chinese firms)
2008-03

Sources: EconStats based upon buyers reports.

[C] Iron Ore Producers

Top three iron ore suppliers account for 75 per cent
of ocean trade in iron ore:

2008q1 production
million metric tons Firm:
___________________ __________________________________________________
83.2 Vale [Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD)] (Brazil)
37.4 Rio Tinto (Anglo-Australian)
28.0 BHP Billiton
8.2 Kumba
5.5 LKAB

[D] Steel Makers Buyers of iron ore.

Steel production tonnages.
Tonnages are 2006 May estimates and are in metric tons (or tonnes), 1000 kg, or 2204.62 pounds.

- Mittal Steel: India 60 million tons steel per year, six percent of total market. Largely owned by Lakshmi Mittal.
- Arcelor Luxembourg 53 million tons steel produced per year.
2006-01-13 Lakshmi Mittal suggests merger of Mittal and Arcelor
to Arcelor CEO Guy Dolle, over dinner.
Dolle rejects offer.
2006-05 Mittal makes formal hostile offer, valued at $23.8 billion.
2006-05-19 Mittal raises offer to $33 billion dollars.
2006-05-19 Arcelor shareholders' annual meeting.
2006-05-26 SeverStal (larvely owned by Alexei Mordashov) makes "white knight" offer
to buy 32 percent stake in Arcelor to spare Arceor from sale to Mitttal.
2006-05-29 SeverStal increase target stake in Arcelor from 32 percent to 45 percent.
2006 Evraz (controlled by Roman Abramovich) offers deal.
2006-06-25 Arcelor board of directors unanimously agrees to
sale of Arcelor to Mittal for $33.8 billion.
- ThyssenKrupp: Germany. 17 million tons steel produced per year. A major customer of CVRD iron ore.
- Nippon Steel: Japan 33 million tons steel produced per year.
- JFE Steel Japan 30 million tons steel produced per year.
- Posco Korea 31 million tons steel produced per year.
- Shanghai Baosteel: China 23 million tons steel produced per year. A major customer of CVRD iron ore.
- TangShan China 10 million tons steel produced per year. Hebei Province. Sales of 30 billion yuan in 2005.
- US Steel: USA 20 million tons steel produced per year.
- Nucor USA 18 million tons steel produced per year.
- Corus: UK 14 million tons steel produced per year.
- SeverStal Russia 17 million tons steel produced per year. Owner: Alexei Mordashov.
- Evraz: Russia 14 million tons steel produced per year.
Alexandr Abramov 59 per cent stake of Evraz.
Alexandr Frolov 28 per cent stake of Evraz.
2006-06-20 Roman Abramovich, through Millhouse Capital, buys 41 percent of Evraz.
- Dafasco: Canada Ontario.
- Riva Italy 17 million tons steel produced per year.

[E] Miscellaneous Price Change Observations

1. Fines: Grain-like ore.
Fines account for sixty percent of global iron ore trade.
2005 price : $61.72 per ton
2006 19.0% Seller: CVRD. Buyers: ThyssenKrupp, (May 16, 2006)
Seller: CVRD. Buyers: Baosteel (May 30, 2006)
Seller: Rio Tinto Buyers: Nippon, Posco (May 19, 2006)
2005 71.5% Seller: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) Rio Tinto. Buyer: Nippon Steel and Posco
2004 18.6%
2003 10.0%
2. Lump ore: Golfball sized pieces, has higher iron content than fines and costs more.
2005 price : $78.77 per dry metric ton
3. Pellets: Iron Ore Pellets, semi-refined iron ore (blast furnace pellets).
2006 -3.0% Seller: CVRD. Buyers: ThyssenKrupp, (May 16, 2006)

2006 May 16 ThyssenKrupp agrees to price hike for the 2006 contract year.
2006 Jun 20 China steel makers, through Shanghai Baosteel Group, agreed to 19% iron ore price rise from BHP Billiton.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-06/21/content_622052.htm

2006 Dec 22 CVRD of Brazil announced 9.5 % price hike from Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp, China's biggest buyer of iron ore.

2008 Feb Baosteel Group (China's largest steel maker) accepted Vale's price hike of 65 percent to 71 percent over previous year.
According to China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) total seaborne trade of iron ore is 805 million tons in 2007.