Australia's sparsely populated Western state is a significant producer of commodities, including liquefied natural gas and gold. Cyclones can disrupt production and damage facilities at ports and mines, which can have an impact on the global commodity markets. Cyclone Ilsa is expected to cross the coast north of the iron ore export harbor of Port Hedland early on Friday. As a precautionary measure, vessels will start to be cleared from the Port Hedland inner harbor from 2 a.m. local time on Wednesday, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority.
BHP Group and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. are among the companies that ship iron ore from the port, and Fortescue has already suspended all non-essential travel to its Pilbara operations until the weather risk has cleared. At this stage, no significant impact is expected. Ilsa will be the strongest of six tropical cyclones to cross the coast this season, which runs from November 1 to April 30, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The only other cyclone to make landfall this season was Ellie in late December, which caused severe flooding in northern parts of Western Australia.