StatWatch: U.S. Stone Imports, March 2013
U.S. granite imports are tepid, due mainly to Brazil falling behind last March’s pace. Marble, along with the potpourri classification of Other Stone, offers continued growth.
StatWatch is a snapshot of U.S. dimensional-stone imports, offering a summary and exclusive Stone Update analysis of data from the U.S. International Trade Commission. Comparisons are made mainly on an annual level to gauge market trends. Analysis is made on import figures of the latest month available.
All figures give are for March 2013 (change from March 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: 82,707 metric tons (-2.8%)
Sector leader: Brazil @ 39,345 metric tons (-5.3%)
Backfill: Brazil’s lag puts the pause on the growth curve in granite tonnage. India’s third-place in March at 13,024 metric tons (-7.6%) doesn’t help; China keeps second at 18,300 metric tons (+6.0%), but that’s not half of this January’s 47,301 metric tons. Italy boldly reverses its long-time decline in March with 6,733 metric tons (+21.4%).
WORKED MARBLE
VALUE
Total: $23,730,033 (+45.7%)
Sector leader: Italy @ $12,908,846 (+49.2%)
VOLUME
Total: 17,426 metric tons (+32.3%)
Sector leader: Italy @ 6,249 metric tons (+31.3%)
Backfill: There’s no slowdown in dimensional marble in March, with Italy reclaiming its top tonnage position and (at $12.5 million) providing half the value of all U.S. marble imports. China’s 3,075 metric tons (+15.6%) makes for a distant second in volume, with close challenges from Turkey’s 2,864 metric tons (+91.7%) and Spain’s 2.345 (+21.6%).
TRAVERTINE
VALUE
Total: $21,989,144 (+15.8%)
Sector leader: Turkey @ $14,412,549 (-4.1%)
VOLUME
Total: 33,070 metric tons (-10.4%)
Sector leader: Turkey @ 26,308 metric tons (-13.3%)
Backfill: Turkey’s decline in volume and value takes travertine performance down a few pegs in March, but there’s some offset with Peru (1,129 metric tons, +45.3%), Italy (960 metric tons, +7.0%) and China (494 metric tons, +37.2%). Mexico’s 3,916 metric tons (-4.4%) represents the fifth straight month that the company’s monthly shipments to the United States are below 4,000 metric tons.
OTHER CALCAREOUS
VALUE
Total: $7,327,084 metric tons (+2.6%)
Sector leader: China @ $1,358,530 (+101.6%)
VOLUME
Total: 8,010 metric tons (-72.3%)
Sector leader: China @ 1,390 metric tons (+46.6%)
Backfill: The doleful comparison on import volume comes from a spring blowout last year by Turkey when – instead of the usual 500-600 metric tons shipped every month – more than 45,000 metric tons hit U.S. ports-of-entry in March-April. Factoring out the big bump, other calcareous does well, showing hefty year-to-year gains this March by China, Spain (916 metric tons, +96.6%) and the Dominican Republic (842 metric tons, (+137.2%).
OTHER STONE
VALUE
Total: $18,767,711 (+23.6%)
Sector leader: India @ $6,106,526 (+14.1%)
VOLUME
Total: 19,446 metric tons (+16.7%)
Sector leader: India @ 7,401 metric tons (+16.7%)
Backfill: The catch-all category for stone imports – the porphyry, basalt and other varieties not classified elsewhere – shows continuing robust health, with India leading the way in 2013. Brazil, running second in volume and value, posts a dynamic 5,000 metric tons in March (+21.6%) and China remains respectable at 2,012 metric tons (6.7%). Canada sounds the only sour note among the leaders at 1,047 metric tons (-42.3%).
SLATE
VALUE
Total: $3,362,765 (-1.7%)
Sector leader: India @ $1,160,057 (-12.0%)
Backfill: India takes the lead by losing less than China ($1,045,199, -17.3%) in year-to-year comparisons for March. Brazil perks up the monthly totals at $438,039 (+4.0%), but the prop against larger losses comes from the United Kingdom, kicking in gear from $17,680 this February to $307,830 the next month (and a 522.2% skyrocket from March 2012).
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