U.S. Stone Imports, June 2012

OTHER CALCAREOUS VALUE
Total: $10.3 million (+38.3%)
Sector leader: Canada @ $2.0 million (+828.4%)

Backfill: Canada continues to skew this oft-volatile sector, but the more-down-to-earth data from other countries reveal a nice growth trend. Second-place China, at $1.7 million, beats last June’s level by 37.2%, and Italy jumps up 22.5% to $1.2 million. The numbers stay up until eighth-place Mexico ($562,643, down 11.0%), but that’s another story ….

OTHER CALCAREOUS VOLUME
Total: 11,047 metric tons (+11.6%)
Sector leader: China @ 2,581 metric tons (+77.3%)

Backfill: … as Mexico readjusts from its 2011 import boom; its 413 metric tons this June is a 84.5% drop. Otherwise, positive numbers abound in year-to-year performance, from the outsized (Canada, 2,155 metric tons, up 549.1%) to the respectable (Spain, 960 metric tons, up 39.9%).

SLATE VALUE
Total: $5.1 million (+5.2%)
Sector leader: China @ $2.6 million (+23.2%)

Backfill: May’s trend reverses, as China moves up big and India drops 24.0% from June 2011 to just shy of $1.5 million. Picking up the slack is Brazil ($514,098, up 29.2%) and Italy ($134,313, up 244.7%). The big loser again is the United Kingdom; after averaging more than $200,000 a month for much of last year, it drops 80.8% from June 2011 to $24,067.

OTHER STONE VALUE
Total: $22.3 million (+28.7%)
Sector leader: Brazil @ $7.4 million (+77.9%)

Backfill: This potpourri of a sector continues to smell sweet; second-place India rolls on with $5.8 million (up 8.5%), with big boosts from Italy ($2.5 million, up 64.6%) and China ($2.3 million, up 13.7%). Only Canada lags from last June, with its $1.9 million down 6.4%.

OTHER STONE VOLUME
Total: 25,185 metric tons (+25.0%)
Sector leader: India @ 7,042 metric tons (+9.2%)

Backfill: Shipments keep growing, with second-place Brazil charging up 31.7% from last June to 6,896 metric tons. China (3,391 metric tons, up 10.8%) and Canada (2,181 metric tons, up 6.9%) do well, and Italy skyrockets with 2,037 metric tons, up 176.0%.

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