StatWatch: Quartz Continues Torrid Pace

 

Quartz imports continue a rocket ride of growth, with volume gains easily surpassing the product’s dollar value.

Spain takes another first in value, easily outpacing Israel’s slow February at $3.9 million. China continues a strong move this year, with both January and February import totals at $2.4 million. Both India (+206.4%) and Vietnam (+97.8%) show consistent growth in the past year; Korea’s increase (+537.3%) looks impressive, but the country suffered a slump in import values during early 2012.

U.S. Quartz Slab Imports – Value
(U.S. dollars)
Feb-13 Feb-12 Change
Spain $7,007,657 $4,779,704 46.6%
Israel $3,918,979 $4,336,527 -9.6%
China $2,432,896 $916,414 165.5%
Canada $1,647,693 $1,103,750 49.3%
India $614,416 $200,502 206.4%
Portugal $273,417 $382,909 140.7%
Italy $225,995 $333,302 -32.2%
Vietnam $224,758 $113,610 97.8%
Korea $120,966 $18,982 537.3%
Czech Republic $56,760 $0 N/A
Belgium $35,858 $249,392 -85.6%
Turkey $19,466 $8,292 134.8%
Brazil $15,006 $46,463 -67.7%
Germany $3,180 $33,645 -90.5%
Indonesia $2,970 $0 N/A
Sweden $0 $2,400 N/A
Total $16,600,017 $12,525,892 32.5%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

Spain’s shipments this February aren’t a record – the country set the monthly bar at 1,042,440 ft² last May – but it does command a 41% share of quartz slabs entering the United States. The 32.1% bump up for Israel, combined with the decline in value, suggests some pricing pressure. China continues to press forward as a third market-maker, with India offering steady growth since a 2012 mid-year shipping swoon.

U.S. Quartz Slab Imports – Volume
(square feet)
Feb-13 Feb-12 Change
Spain 775,722 428,694 81.0%
Israel 441,955 334,628 32.1%
China 318,967 98,587 223.5%
Canada 139,339 109,135 27.7%
India 102,612 22,561 354.8%
Portugal 33,702 44,250 -23.8%
Vietnam 24,337 14,327 69.9%
Italy 21,754 33,497 -35.1%
Korea 15,618 3,584 335.8%
Czech Republic 7,922 0 N/A
Belgium 3,897 27,383 -85.8%
Turkey 2,390 915 161.2%
Brazil 657 2,766 -76.3%
Germany 108 4,402 -97.6%
Indonesia 11 0 N/A
Sweden 0 11 -100.0%
Total 1,888,989 1,124,740 67.9%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

 

What happened to January’s quartz-import numbers?

A change in release dates of federal trade data allowed StatWatch to “skip forward” a month in reporting. In January, Israel claimed the top spot in value for quartz slabs at $5.4 million and volume with 600,615 ft².  January 2013’s quartz-slab import shipments totaled 1,714,937 ft², up 28% from the previous January.

 

StatWatch is a snapshot of U.S. dimensional-stone and hard-surfaces imports, offering a summary and exclusive Stone Update analysis of data from the U.S. International Trade Commission. Comparisons are made mainly to gauge market trends. Analysis is made on import figures of the latest month available.

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