Oct 17 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto Ltd RIO.AX RIO.L on Tuesday said third-quarter iron ore shipments from Australia rose 6 percent from a year ago, aided by improved rail capacity.
Rio Tinto, which competes with Vale SA VALE5.SA and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX in the seaborne-traded iron ore market, maintained its target to ship 330 million tonnes of the steel-making material in 2017, maintaining its ranking as the world's No. 3 supplier.
Shipments from its Australian mines totaled 85.8 million tonnes in the third quarter compared with 80.9 million in the same period a year ago, Rio Tinto said. UBS had forecast third-quarter Australian shipments of 84.6 million tonnes.