Mid-Year 2004 Stone Imports

It’s almost hard to find anything but travertine from Turkey when it comes to volume; the 184,565 metric tons received in U.S. ports accounts for 65.6 percent of all travertine imported. Turkey also betters its 1H 2003 import volume by 50.4 percent; Mexico’s 39,477 metric tons shows a 15-percent increase. Peru made a significant increase from 1H 2003 – 187 percent – with its 16,594 metric tons.

 Italy, meanwhile, offers a near-mirror image of the market leader; its 27,908 metric tons in 1H 2004 reveals a 46.8-percent drop from the same time last year.

 In value-per-metric-ton, Mexico tops the leaders in travertine imports for 1H 2004 at $938.84, easily outdistancing Italy’s $776.64. Turkey’s high volume contributes to its metric-ton average of $460.97, while Peru offers the greatest value at $385.62.

THE REST

 Other calcareous stone – including limestone and alabaster – remains Italy’s turf in 1H 2004, but only barely. The $31.3 million in U.S. imports from Italy edged Spain’s $30.2 million; China, with $11.6 million, edged the $10.1 million from France. The top four countries in imports of other calcareous show growth rates in value of at least 10 percent, although China easily outpaced the other leaders with a 55.2-percent increase.

 In the classification of “other stone” (such as sandstone), Italy saw the total values of its U.S. import market decline by 17.2 percent – but manages to lead in 1H 2004 with $23.7 million. India is second at $20 million, followed by Brazil ($15.6 million), Canada ($14.3 million) and China ($9.7 million).

 India and China remain the major players in slate, with U.S. import values of $17.9 million and $13.3 million, respectively, for the first six months of this year. The two leaders account for 73.4 percent of the value of all 1H 2004 slate imports; Brazil’s $4.7 million is a distant third place, followed by Italy in fourth at $3.8 million.
 
MID-YEAR MUSINGS

 • While granite continues to roll into the United States at a record pace, average prices per-metric-ton continue to drop. The top four (Brazil, China, India and Italy) all saw prices decrease; Italy’s average dropped the least from the end of last year ($817 to $805), while Brazil took the biggest slide ($530 to $436).

 • Italy continues to suffer from the Euro’s high exchange rate with the U.S. dollar, but marble imports are showing double-digit growth in volume and value. Other competitors are bringing granite into the United States faster, but Italy still leads in overall value and gets the highest price.

 • China’s granite imports get the most attention in the U.S. market, but its growth in  marble is sizzling. With cut-stone/slab shipments growing by 130-plus percent from mid-year 2004 to this year’s first half, it’s supplanting Spain as the second-largest source for marble.

 • Peru is a surprise in 1H 2004 in the travertine market. While Turkey is the giant in travertine territory, imports of the Peruvian varieties in this year’s first six months already tops the full-year total from 2003.

 Data for this article, and for accompanying charts, is derived from information reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. International Trade Commission. All analysis is made using comparable data. “Cut stone/slab” data excludes crude/roughly trimmed stone comprised of marble/travertine, granite or other categories where volume measurement is in cubic meters instead of metric tons. Data from the categories of “marble/travertine crude/roughly trimmed stone” is not included in value summaries, since the two stones are not delineated in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2002) (Revision 2).

 Original publication ©2004 Western Business Media Inc. Use licensed to the author.

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