Stone Imports: First-Half Improvements in 2012

September 6, 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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