Freight of metallic ores and concentrates

Iron, copper and nickel are the principal metallic ores transported via freight. 2015 represented a significant year because while global commodity prices fell significantly, freight for metallic ores increased 33.4% and has remained elevated since then. With weakened downstream demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, freight of metallic ores fell 6.8% over 2020. Freight activity to carry such materials fell 5.7% in 2021 as industrial commodity usage remains subdued in part because of the uncertain effects of the delta variant and from the coronavirus virus from the previous year. While non-metallic minerals experience growth in the year partially because of their strong abundancy as this helps aid operations grow their rates of production, metallic minerals such as iron ores are more burrowed and buried, which requires more time to find and dig out, which keeps mining rates for these types of minerals a lot more pressured than their non-metallic counterparts in the year. Paired with labor challenges, production rates for metallic minerals overall suffered in the year, which hurt demand for freight carriers.

However, in 2022, freight activity to carry metallic minerals grew 6.1% to levels past 2020, which was helped by labor rates rising in mining industries and fears regarding COVID-19 shutdowns fading away from the previous year. Despite the inflationary environment, which raised costs among many downstream industries, mining sectors faced growth in part because of the essentialness of items procured from this industry from iron and copper, which are essential to supplant construction and manufacturing industries, which were industries heated by demand levels in the period, kept production rates of metallic minerals high as well, which in turn helped expand the need for more freight carriers in the year. Freight activity for metallic ores and concentrates scaled back in 2023, remained roughly level in 2024 and is expected to continue its decline though 2025 as downstream construction and general economic activity in China has weakened demand for iron from steel manufacturers and, more recently, uncertainty surrounding tariffs has slowed down trade activity. Freight activity has also decreased because of advancements in construction and manufacturing; the focus on lightweight materials and a commitment to sustainability has led to a reliance on prefabricated and modular approaches. These strategies reduce the need for metallic ores by optimizing inputs and efficiently managing costs and space. This trend is expected to continue into 2025, maintaining pressure on the market and causing freight rates for metallic ores in the country to drop.