StatWatch: Volume Up,Value Down for April Quartz Imports

 

Imports of quartz surfaces send mixed signals in April, with overall values declining from last year while product shipments increase.

The $13.0 million of quartz slabs hitting U.S. ports-of-entry in April represents a 14.9% decline from the same time last year.

Spain’s $4.4 million leads the pack, although that’s down 19.6% from last April. Israel, meanwhile, moves closer to the top with a 23.3% increase to $4.2 million; fourth-place China shows a 29.6% increase to $1.0 million, while Canada dips 43.8% to $1.5 million (which may be reflective of panel production shifting to new U.S. operations).

U.S. Quartz Slab Imports – Value
(U.S. dollars)
Apr-12 Apr-11 Change
Spain $4,467,876 $5,560,294 -19.6%
Israel $4,136,990 $3,353,914 23.3%
Canada $1,534,766 $2,728,829 -43.8%
China $1,038,584 $801,277 29.6%
Italy $891,341 $1,229,684 -27.5%
India $441,985 $522,494 -15.4%
Vietnam $161,926 $201,691 -19.7%
Portugal $132,157 $66,396 99.0%
Belgium $97,634 $723,785 -86.5%
Korea $61,316 $47,581 28.9%
Czech Republic $30,267 $0 N/A
Brazil $17,702 $19,499 -9.2%
Total $13,012,544 $15,294,347 -14.9%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

Values didn’t follow volume, as the 1.4 million ft² shipped to the United States this April shows a year-to-year gain of 5.3%. Spain again leads with 492,664 ft² — a 3.6% increase – but Israel moves up 110.5% to 477,304 ft² . China also clocks a 26.7% gain to 149,371 ft², while Canada’s 128,230 ft² represents a 33.7% decline.

U.S. Quartz Slab Imports – Volume
(square feet)
Apr-12 Apr-11 Change
Spain 492,664 475,635 3.6%
Israel 477,304 226,752 110.5%
China 149,371 117,886 26.7%
Canada 128,230 193,503 -33.7%
India 55,692 45,305 22.9%
Italy 51,882 114,216 -54.6%
Vietnam 18,083 26,016 -30.5%
Portugal 15,048 6,405 135.0%
Belgium 9,957 128,360 -92.2%
Korea 7,718 5,264 46.6%
Czech Republic 4,176 0 N/A
Brazil 775 850 -8.9%
Total 1,410,900 1,340,192 5.3%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

StatWatch is a snapshot of U.S. dimensional-stone and hard-surfaces imports, offering a summary and exclusive Stone Update analysis of data from the U.S. International Trade Commission. Comparisons are made mainly to gauge market trends. Analysis is made on import figures of the latest month available.

 

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