U.S. Stone Imports, May 2012

OTHER CALCAREOUS VOLUME
Total: 8,865 metric tons (-36.9%)
Sector leader: China @ 1,621 metric tons (+29.4%)

Backfill: The year-to-year numbers drop by more than one-third due to the massive Mexican imports of early 2011; Mexico’s 377 metric tons this May is a 94.3% dive from 6,631 metric tons in May 2011. Canada provides this year’s oddball total at 1,297 metric tons (up 414.7%), but the rest of the top shippers note double-digit growth, including France’s 76.6% at 1,033 metric tons.

SLATE VALUE
Total: $4.9 million (+4.4%)
Sector leader: China @ $2.1 million (-1.2%)

Backfill: India’s strong comeback at $1.8 million (up 8.1%) makes up for China’s slight drop; third-place Brazil does its part at $474,669, up 49.2%. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, continues to fade away after several years of good growth; the $47,280 shipped in May is a year-to-year drop of 77.1%.

OTHER STONE VALUE
Total: $19.1 million (+21.5%)
Sector leader: India @ $6.0 million (+19.2%)

Backfill: The good times continue in this omnibus category, with second-place Brazil tallying $5.6 million, a 47.2% gain from May 2011. The numbers also look up for China ($2.6 million, up 22.5%) and Canada ($2.0 million, up 30.0%). Only Italy is off at $1.1 million, down 13.0%.

OTHER STONE VOLUME
Total: 20,832 metric tons (+9.4%)
Sector leader: India @ 6,910 metric tons (+14.0%)

Backfill: No other country shows a consistent gain like India’s, although Canada rates a double-digit jump at 10.2% with its 2,352 metric tons. Turkey runs hot-and-cold in this category, and May 2012 sees the heat turned up at 756 metric tons, a 759.1% leap from the previous year.

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