China has increased its iron ore imports from the start of 2019, largely due to lower prices and potential for the fallout from the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran to spread beyond energy markets. The country, which imports around three-quarters of global seaborne iron ore, saw arrivals of 210.02 million metric tons in the first two months of 2026, up 10% from the same period a year earlier. This increase is largely due largely to lower steel production. However, rather than being consumed by steel mills, China has been building stockpiles rather than consumed them. The strength in iron ore import isn't due to higher steel production, but to an increase in port inventories monitored by consultants SteelHome. So far, the impact on iron ore flows to China from the US and Israeli war on Iran has been limited to higher freight charges as the price of fuel oil soars and the potential for further disruptions if Australia and South Africa start to run short of diesel supplies.