Buying iron ore is getting more like shopping on Amazon

By Krystal Chia | Bloomberg

The world’s biggest iron ore miners are looking for novel ways of satisfying their customers and protecting market share in the $150 billion global industry.

From selling through a mobile app to portside sales, the likes of BHP Group, Rio Tinto Group and Vale SA are looking for an edge with buyers of the steelmaking raw material in China, the top customer. The need to retain their business is becoming ever more critical amid forecasts that the market is around its peak.

“For miners, Chinese import volumes are basically not going to grow the way they used to,” said Tomas Gutierrez, analyst at Kallanish Commodities Ltd. “Any increase in value for iron ore will come from either adding service to mills or from cutting out the traders.”

Rio and rivals — who have spent more than a decade pumping billions into expansions to keep pace with China’s fast-rising appetite for iron ore — are now preparing for an era of slower growth and an eventual high point in the nation’s steel output…Full Story