U.S. Stone Imports Mixed in Third Quarter 2011

Leading the way is Italy with 16,357 metric tons; it’s the best three-month total for the country since the fourth quarter of 2008. China’s 15,792 metric tons is its best quarter since mid-2007. Turkey and Spain, at metric tonnages of 6,505 and 6,285 respectively, also easily top last year’s third quarter.

Through the first nine months of this year, U.S. marble imports reached a total of 137,029 metric tons, a 4.4% increase from January-September 2010. China is the leader – barely – at 41,750 metric tons, a 3.3% from the same time last year. Italy follows closely at 40,931 metric tons, up 21.7%. Turkey’s 17,276 metric tons represents a 3.6% increase, while Spain holds steady at 17,763 metric tons – it’s up from 2010, but by only 0.3%.

TRAVERTINE

The good news spread to travertine, with the 152,911 metric tons arriving in the United States in third-quarter 2011 representing a 29.3% percent increase from the same time last year.

The big difference comes from market leader Turkey, which upped third-quarter shipments from 87,273 metric tons last year to 114,313 metric tons in 2011. China also cranked up the third-quarter container tally, going from 5,403 metric tons in 2010 to 8,289 metric tons this year – its largest quarterly total since mid-2006.

Through this September, U.S. travertine imports weight in at 378,998 metric tons, a 6.1% increase from the first nine months of 2010. Turkey dominates at 291,539 metric tons (up 6.3%; Mexico shows nominal growth of 2.5% at 47,766 metric tons, while China takes a step up of 55.8% at 16,122 metric tons.

OTHER CALCAREOUS

The five-year calamity of outsized U.S. imports in this category came to an end in mid-2010, allowing for one year of a relatively normal market. The first regular quarterly comparison shows a mild-mannered market.

The 26,329 metric tons of the stone arriving in the United States in this year’s third quarter is a decline from the same time in 2010, but it’s small – only 1.6%. Italy takes a tumble of 49.2% at 2,290 metric tons, but other countries pick up the slack – mainly with sector leader China at 4,096 metric tons (up 33.4%)

Year-to-date comparisons are still fuzzy, due to the massive exports from Lebanon that suddenly stopped in May 2010 and the abnormal push of other calcareous from Mexico earlier this year. However, China’s 12,160 metric tons through this Sept. 30 is a 48.2% increase from the same time last year; Portugal ups its flow by 13.5% to 7,620 metric tons, and Canada shows a good performance at 5,078 metric tons, up 43.6%. At the other end, Italy’s 6,251 metric tons is a 28.7% stumble, and Spain drops 60.8% at 6,180 metric tons.

OTHER STONE

The troubles continue with this omnibus category, with this year’s third-quarter imports of 55,343 metric tons shows a 33.7% shortfall from the same time in 2010. Brazil, the third-quarter leader last year at 31,167 metric tons, plummets 56.8% to 13,453 metric tons; among countries sending more than a thousand metric tons, only Mexico’s 1,807 metric tons represents an increase … of 59 metric tons.

The year-to-date numbers show little improvement, with the 156,313 metric tons received from January-September revealing a 29.4% drop from the same time in 2010. Sixth-place Mexico offers the only positive note; at 5,521 metric tons, it’s a small part of the total, but the shipments are a 4.6% increase from the first nine months of 2010.

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