Brazilian iron ore exporter Vale may be resetting its Asia route network to transship via China due to a shortage of capacity elsewhere. The phased nature of COVID-19 linked shutdowns globally may make such rearrangements more common. Vale’s iron ore exports from Brazil were already in decline with a 45.1% drop in February versus the prior three months. Shipments to China fell while those to Asia ex-China and Europe rose. Other iron ore producers including Anglo American and CSN also likely cut exports by 6.1% over the same period.