Iron ore mine production in the U.S. 2010-2023

In 2023, the United States produced an estimated 44 million metric tons of iron ore. Iron ore production in the United States has undergone a some fluctuation over the past decade, with the highest production volume of 56.1 million metric tons produced in 2014, and the lowest production volume of 38.1 million metric tons occurring in 2020.

Iron Ore in the U.S.

Iron ore consumption in the U.S. has also fluctuated over the past decade. However, U.S. iron ore trade remains relatively stable. With some decline in recent years, the United States' shipments of iron ore have recently begun to increase. The United States is still importing ore despite declining consumption in recent years. As of 2021, more than half of the iron ore import volume to the U.S. came from Brazil.

Iron ore: the global picture

As of 2019, the region with the largest production of iron ore was Oceania, followed by Asia. Accordingly, Australia is the world's largest producer of iron ore by far, having produced an estimated 560 million metric tons in 2021. The global gross weight of iron ore production has been relatively stable in recent years, and amounted to an estimated 2.6 billion metric tons in 2022.