Australia's Port Hedland iron ore shipments to China fall nearly 20 percent in July

FILE PHOTO - Ships waiting to be loaded are seen near piles of iron ore and bucket-wheel reclaimers at the Fortescue loading dock located at Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia December 3, 2013. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Iron ore shipments to China from Australia's Port Hedland terminal fell nearly 20 percent in July from a month earlier, port data released on Wednesday showed.

Iron ore shipments to China from the world's biggest iron ore port totalled 32.38 million tonnes in July, down from June's 39.69 million tonnes, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority.

Total July iron ore shipments from the port totalled 40.69 million tonnes, down from 47.29 million tonnes a month earlier.

Port Hedland is used by three of Australia's top four iron ore miners, BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> <BLT.L>, Fortescue Metals Group <FMG.AX> and Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.

Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> <RIO.L> uses the nearby Dampier and Cape Lambert ports to ship iron ore.

(Reporting by Colin Packham; editing by Richard Pullin)