Stone Imports: First-Half Improvements in 2012

 

The volume side of other calcareous in 2012 yields a completely different tale, starting with the near-20% gain from January-June last year.

Other Calcareous Volume – First Half  
(metric tons)
2012 2011 Change
Turkey 25,219 3,041 729.3%
Portugal 24,473 4,850 404.6%
China 8,937 8,064 10.8%
Italy 7,030 3,961 77.5%
Canada 5,308 3,205 65.6%
Spain 3,735 4,300 -13.1%
France 3,102 2,527 22.8%
Dominican Republic 3,027 2,295 31.9%
Mexico 2,493 33,978 -92.7%
Egypt 1,681 2,118 -20.6%
Israel 1,520 2,249 -32.4%
All Others 5,810 6,402 -9.2%
Total 92,335 76,990 19.9%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

Massive shipments from Turkey and Portugal aren’t reflected in big value increases; both average less 1,000 metric tons a month this year, save for one month for each country where the scales tip past 20,000 metric tons. Even France shows less than 1% increase in value, but a solid 22.8% gain in volume during this year’s first half. At least the sector is looking up, which is much better than news in previous years.

SLATE

Dimensional, non-roofing slate comes up a bit short in first-half 2012, although a drop of less than one percent is more of a small hiccup than a market omen.

Slate Value – First Half   
(U.S. dollars)
2012 2011 Change
China $11,952,852 $10,324,610 15.8%
India $8,432,232 $10,367,553 -18.7%
Brazil $2,484,667 $2,207,700 12.5%
Spain $722,317 $391,674 84.4%
Italy $572,800 $303,553 88.7%
Canada $476,676 $365,587 30.4%
United Kingdom $387,028 $1,284,189 -69.9%
All Others $736,130 $737,589 -0.2%
Total $25,764,702 $25,982,455 -0.8%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

Other suppliers pick up the slack for India, including some big moves for Brazil and Spain. The real laggard here is the United Kingdom; after building momentum in 2010 and 2011, slate shipments took a sharp dive of nearly 70 percent in this year’s first half.

OTHER STONE

The sector including what’s left in dimensional stone is going up in 2012, with a 25.4% increase in first-half values.

Other Stone Value – First Half  
(U.S. dollars)
2012 2011 Change
India $34,260,032 $26,271,183 30.4%
Brazil $29,400,252 $19,144,113 53.6%
China $12,156,235 $10,614,944 14.5%
Canada $10,567,537 $7,693,644 37.4%
Italy $8,045,620 $6,433,962 25.0%
Mexico $2,320,962 $3,219,863 -27.9%
Taiwan $1,227,424 $1,608,241 -23.7%
All Others $6,072,463 $8,019,385 -24.3%
Total $104,050,525 $83,005,335 25.4%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

The top five countries show strong growth overall, sparked by second-place Brazil’s 53.6% gain. The remaining countries offered mixed results, usually to the downside – including Indonesia dropping out of the million-dollar club ($1.1 million in first half 2011, $791,432 for the same time this year).

Shipments, meanwhile, grew at a 11% clip in first-half 2012.

Other Stone Volume – First Half  
(metric tons)
2012 2011 Change
India 39,144 31,495 24.3%
Brazil 28,449 25,079 13.4%
China 16,693 15,484 7.8%
Canada 9,903 7,430 33.3%
Italy 5,011 3,473 44.3%
Mexico 2,528 3,714 -31.9%
Turkey 2,295 6,092 -62.3%
South Africa 1,662 1,044 59.2%
All Others 6,410 7,159 -10.5%
Total 112,095 100,970 11.0%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

When the lowest rate of growth among the top five countries is “only” 7.8% (China), it’s an indication of continuing heath for this sector. Even Turkey, which went from 1,000+ metric tons per month early in 2011 to less than 100 metric tons in later months, shows a steady buildup in this year’s second quarter (although not enough to offset last year’s results).

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