StatWatch December 2019: Goodbye & Hello

February 18, 2020

By Emerson Schwartzkopf

This is the final StatWatch column from stoneupdate.com. It’s not the end of our coverage, however … next month, it’s going to get bigger and better.

I’ll elaborate more on that, but first to December 2019 hard-surface imports — with at least one sector getting bigger and better despite continue tariff turmoil.

Shipments of quartz slabs to U.S. ports-of-entry jumped nearly 65% in December 2019 from the previous year, right in the face of new preliminary tariffs announced that month on imports from India and Turkey. Indian exporters scaled back shipments, but Turkey began turning up the volume of quartz-slab exports to the United States … and Malaysia went from nowhere in 2018 to fourth on the list of U.S. suppliers.

Worked marble showed growth at the end of last year, but only due to massive shipments from Turkey. Granite, meanwhile, went back to the negative after a good November 2019, and other sectors followed with double-digit declines from December 2018.

The biggest declines in all but one sector belong to one country: China. Turkey recorded the biggest drop in travertine, but China fell hardest in all other categories. The numbers from China aren’t likely to get better, given the country’s economic slowdown, the continued trade war with the United States, and effects from the coronavirus shutdown.

So how will you follow this,and everything else in imports, without the monthly StatWatch column? There’s going to be an entire magazine covering U.S. hard-surface imports, beginning next month, with Hard-Surface Report. You’ll get news updates, along with expanded and enhanced charts in an illustrative, easy-to-follow format.

Hard-Surface Report — which, like all other Stone Update products, will be available exclusively online and free — will debut in mid-March. Keep watching stoneupdate.com and reading Slab & Sheet, our twice-monthly e-newsletter, to see it go live for the industry.

QUARTZ SLABS

Uncertainly about preliminary unfair-trade tariffs (announced early in December) likely makes Indian quartz-surface exporters wary of the U.S. market at year’s end, altthough fellow tariff target Turkey stepped up from December 2018 imports. Meanwhile, Malaysia muscles up the U.S. import charts to fourth — an amazing achievement, since the country didn’t start shipping here until earlier in 2019.

U.S. Imports: Quartz Slab
(square feet)
	19-Dec	18-Dec	Change
TOTAL	11,030,565	6,703,682	64.5%
Top 25
Spain	3,330,254	1,328,427	150.7%
Vietnam	1,652,711	278,408	493.6%
Israel	1,085,389	351,721	208.6%
Malaysia	887,182	0	N/A
India	672,195	1,821,790	-63.1%
Canada	595,265	477,497	24.7%
Turkey	511,867	396,381	29.1%
Taiwan	433,871	115,863	274.5%
Italy	380,472	215,902	76.2%
South Korea	321,905	285,254	12.8%
Germany	254,222	138,133	84.0%
Brazil	192,825	131,632	46.5%
Belgium	156,130	19,590	697.0%
Czech Republic	150,856	129,910	16.1%
Portugal	104,980	108,629	-3.4%
China	68,781	896,697	-92.3%
Philippines	58,932	0	N/A
Mexico	36,500	0	N/A
Estonia	32,087	0	N/A
Thailand	29,504	0	N/A
Hong Kong	26,598	7,384	260.2%
Algeria	14,294	0	N/A
United Arab Em	11,571	0	N/A
Oman	8,697	0	N/A
Greece	5,985	0	N/A
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update* analysis*

WORKED GRANITE

Two of worked (sawn, one-side polished) granite’s Big Three — Brazil and China — falter in December shipments, pushing the sector back into the red to finish 2019. India brings good news with its increase of nearly 15% from December 2018..

U.S. Imports: Worked Granite
(metric tons)
	19-Dec	18-Dec	Change
TOTAL	95,235	125,078	-23.9%

Top Countries
Brazil	39,070	52,635	-25.8%
China	23,855	44,744	-46.7%
India	18,361	16,009	14.7%
Spain	5,872	5,700	3.0%
Canada	3,897	1,738	124.2%
Italy	2,882	3,071	-6.2%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update* analysis*

WORKED MARBLE

Turkey continues to keep total worked-marble imports in the positive at year’s end as other countries fail to reach 2018 levels. China’s halving of its shipments from December 2018 is a troublesome pre-coronavirus indicator.

U.S. Imports: Worked Marble
(metric tons)
	19-Dec	18-Dec	Change
TOTAL	43,250	38,497	12.3%

Top Countries
Turkey	21,228	9,406	125.7%
Italy	6,421	7,210	-10.9%
India	5,524	6,185	-10.7%
China	4,613	9,366	-50.7%
Brazil	3,095	3,118	-0.7%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update* analysis*

TRAVERTINE

U.S.Imports: Travertine
(metric tons)
	19-Dec	18-Dec	Change
TOTAL	17,808	25,678	-30.6%

Top Countries
Turkey	12,054	21,063	-42.8%
Mexico	3,018	2,892	4.4%
Italy	1,673	797	109.9%
China	334	371	-10.0%
Peru	323	314	2.9%
Spain	273	89	206.7%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update* analysis*

OTHER CALCAREOUS

U.S. Imports: Other Calcareous
(metric tons)
	19-Dec	18-Dec	Change
TOTAL	7,767	10,350	-25.0%

Top Countries
Portugal	1,141	1,151	-0.9%
China	1,105	2,405	-54.1%
Turkey	1,077	1,375	-21.7%
Canada	933	1,234	-24.4%
Mexico	573	360	59.2%
Spain	430	419	2.6%
Italy	426	734	-42.0%
Israel	253	124	104.0%
Dominican Republic	223	407	-45.2%
India	221	206	7.3%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update* analysis*

OTHER STONE

U.S. Imports: Other Stone
(metric tons)
	19-Dec	18-Dec	Change
TOTAL	24,121	27,109	-11.0%

Top Countries
Brazil	7,819	6,828	14.5%
India	5,934	9,023	-34.2%
China	5,074	6,703	-24.3%
Italy	1,423	1,670	-14.8%
Canada	1,373	1,057	29.9%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update* analysis*

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