Rugged Start for U.S. Surface Imports in ‘15

By Emerson Schwartzkopf

U.S. imports of dimensional stone and quartz got off to an uneven start in 2015, as granite shipments slipped while other surfaces made good year-to-year gains in January and February.

The exclusive Stone Update analysis of data from the U.S International Trade Commission also showed some erratic exporting from some countries – particularly China – in showing strengths and weaknesses among different sectors, following a strong year in 2014.

The oft-watched “worked” (slab and tiles) granite section accounted for 212,024 metric tons of shipments in January-February, a 20.9% drop from the first two months of last year. Export leader Brazil, with 104,390 metric tons, came in 5.4% off last year’s pace, but the major cut came from China: 57,776 metric tons in January-February, down 46.3% from the same time in 2014.

India bucked the downward trend in granite shipments, with a 10.4% annual gain in January-February with 31,141 metric tons. Italy, however, moved closer to secondary import status, with its 9,789 January-February total down 5.7% from 2014.

U.S. imports of worked marble, meanwhile, headed the other way with booming growth, along with a new sector leader: Turkey, which increased January-February shipments by 103.8% for a two-month total of 14,444 metric tons.

Italy moved down to the number-two marble spot with 13,869 metric tons in this year’s first two months, topping 2014 by 13.8%. Third place China didn’t lag far behind at 13,616 metric ton for January-February, up 14.9% from the previous year.

Turkey also maintained its top position in providing travertine to U.S. markets,with 102,968 metric tons in this year’s first two months and a 46% hike from the same time in 2014. Total travertine imports moved up 38.6% from last year in January-February with 116,059 metric tons.

Quartz slabs also rode a tall growth wave in January-February with 8.27 million ft² moving through U.S. ports-of-entry – a 35.5% increase from 2014. Israel moved into a commanding early lead for 2015 with 2.40 million ft², representing a 25.2% year-to-year increase.

Based on a very strong January, China forged to the number-two spot for the first two months with 1.91 million ft², making a 58.7% leap from 2014. Spain dropped to third in January-February with 1.46 million ft² (-23.9%), with Canada fourth at 737,747 metric tons (+5.9%). The big mover in gaining share, though, is fifth-place Vietnam, with its 719,599 metric tons in January-February showing a 151.9% yearly gain.

U.S. imports of other calcareous stone fell off 26.2% in January-February this year, although much of the year-to-year difference is skewed by abnormally large shipments from Spain in January 2014. After shipping 12,581 metric tons that month, the average monthly total from Spain since then is less than 650 metric tons.

Factoring out Spain’s big month last year, other calcareous would likely show a small gain of 5% or less in January-February 2015. The main gain comes from China, with 8,191 metric tons for this year’s first two months and a year-to-year gain of 102.3%

The catch-all “other stone” category, meanwhile, continued its up-and-down ride in U.S. imports, with January-February’s 35,406 metric tons marking a decline of 18.4% from the previous year. Brazil led the field in the first two months with 10,906 metric tons (down 34.7% from 2014), followed by India at 9,441 metric tons (-25.1%). China offered the best performance in the sector with a two-month total of 8,167 metric tons (+23.0%).

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