Record throughput
Truly, an extraordinary story.
Pilbara Ports reported record annual throughput of 668.5 million tonnes (Mt) in the 2017 financial year, for another substantial increase of 6 per cent.
Iron ore exports from Port Hedland were 43Mt in the month of June to rack up an astounding 494.6Mt for the financial year, an annual increase of 9 per cent.
In short, half a billion tonnes of ore was shipped from the port.
More than 85 per cent of the iron ore cargo shipped was bound for China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Indeed a look at yesterday's international trade figures underscores this incredible change in Australia's economy in just a decade-and-a-half.
There's not much else to say but...thank you, China!