StatWatch: U.S. Stone Imports, July 2013

All figures give are for July 2013 (change from July 2012 amounts in parentheses). “Worked” stone is material that’s shorn from boulders and blocks, and then cut in standard dimensional measures (such as slabs and tiles) and polished (at least once, one side). “Value” represents the declared customs value of stone.
 
WORKED GRANITE

VALUE
Total: $76,360,800 (+1.6%)
Sector leader: Brazil @ $33,884,412 (-7.1%)

VOLUME
Total: 208,516 metric tons (+62.3%)
Sector leader: Brazil @ 93,613 metric tons (+75.8%)

Backfill: The early-year doldrums seem gone for good, as granite slab/tile hit growth rates reminiscent of the good ol’ early 2000s. Second-place China loads up the containers with 60,225 metric tons for the month, a 115.6% increase from July 2012. While India slumps 22.7% to 22,300 metric tons, Canada keeps pushing more granite across the border at 11,390 metric tons (+299.65%), shouldering Italy out of fourth place.

WORKED MARBLE

VALUE
Total: $37,578,135 (+31.7%)
Sector leader: Italy @ $20,549,518 (+26.0%)

VOLUME
Total: 27,474 metric tons (+11.9%)
Sector leader: Italy @ 9,656 metric tons (+7.4%)

Backfill: Marble continues its high climb back, with Italy clearly leading the way in import values and tonnage that’s U.S.-bound. The double-digit increase in volume this July, comes not from Italian or Chinese (6,510 metric tons, up 2.7% from last year) ports; Turkey ships 4,130 metric tons and Spain sends 3,041 metric tons with year-to-year growth of 96.5% and 32.3%, respectively.

TRAVERTINE

VALUE
Total: $26,712,293 (+4.8%)
Sector leader: Turkey @ $17,502,788 (2.4%)

VOLUME
Total: 56,441 metric tons (31.8%)
Sector leader: Turkey @ 36,886 metric tons (6.5%)

Backfill: Did someone push a button on the way-way-wayback machine? Sure, Turkey continues its dominance of the sector, but second place in volume for July – with 10,044 metric tons, 891.6% from the previous year – goes to Italy. It’s also a very curious anomaly when it comes to value; the $2.3 million claimed for this July’s Italian travertine is only 14.3% more than the same month last year, which goes against the usual premium-pricing strategy for the country’s stone. Or, is someone donating 9,000 tons or so of travertine to a U.S. project?

OTHER CALCAREOUS

VALUE
Total: $11,107,588 metric tons (+0.8%)
Sector leader: China @ $2,402,376 (+10.5%)

VOLUME
Total: 15,234 metric tons (-7.8%)
Sector leader: France @ 2,728 metric tons (-47.7%)

Backfill: Welcome again to the topsy-turvy turns of limestone, et al, where a country (France) can lead all others in shipping other calcareous stone to the United States … and barely show half of the volume from July 2012. Nearly every major exporting country goes on one- and two-month binges annually, making comparisons specious. China shows a decent pace at 2,495 metric tons in July (up 3.8% from last year), and Spain hits a 2013 monthly high with 1,317 metric tons.