Mid-Year 2004 Stone Imports
At the halfway point this year, U.S. stone imports show that the market is staying the same – and yet it’s also showing signs of change.
The January-June import data for granite, marble, travertine and other dimensional stone indicate that yet more material is coming into the country, denoting continued growth for the overall U.S. stone market. And, the perennial leader – Italy – still holds a strong position.
As containers of stone flow through U.S. ports of entry, though, the increase in volume continues to outstrip the declared value of the stone; the more that comes on the dock, the cheaper it gets. And that strengthens the positions of value-price challengers such as Brazil, China and Turkey.
The following data comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), representing stone imports for the first six months of 2004 and, for comparison, the same time frame in 2003. (Totals are rounded off in some categories.)
GRANITE
Granite’s strong showing overall in 2003 gives no signs of abating this year. In the first half (1H) of 2004, overall granite imports are $436.7 million, or 32.5-percent more than the first six months of 2003. Italy leads the field with an import value of $135.6 million, with an increase of 18.2 percent from 1H2003. Brazil, meanwhile, shows an increase of 34.1 percent from last year’s first half with $101.9 million; India’s $71 million represents a 45.7-percent increase from January-June 2003.
China’s $57.4 million in overall U.S. granite imports takes fourth place in 1H2004. However, that’s 70.7-percent more than last year’s first six months.
The lineup stays the same when narrowing the imports to granite slabs/cut stone; Italy remains first at $134.5 million, followed by Brazil at $101 million, India at $71 million and China at $57.1 million. These four countries control most of the processed granite coming into this country; between them, they make up 84.5 percent of the $431 million in imports for the first half of this year.
When it comes to volume, however, the order changes significantly. Brazil becomes the leader for 1H2004, with its 231,385 metric tons representing a 39.5-percent increase from 1H2003. India takes second, with its 195,517 metric tons denoting a 28-percent rise from the first six months of last year.
Italy, when it comes to actual amounts of processed granite shipped into this country, ranks third in 1H2004 with 167,120 metric tons. Its increase of 8.9 percent from the same time last year is literally a world away from China’s growth; while Chinese processed granite totals for this year’s first half is 118,847 tons, that’s a 131.3-percent jump from 1H2003.
That volume growth seems to back the assumption that China’s slab/processed granite would also be the least-expensive among U.S. imports in 1H 2004 – except that it’s the wrong conclusion. India’s processed granite, when comparing import values to actual tonnage at the docks, is the value leader among the top four at $363 per metric ton. Brazil is second least-expensive at $436.
