U.S. Hard-Surface Imports Stagger in 1Q 2026
U.S. imports of natural stone and quartz surfaces took a sharp drop in this year’s first quarter … and it’s uncertain whether this is an anomaly or a continuing – and frightening – trend.
The customs value of those hard surfaces shipped to the United States in January-March totaled $722.1 million, or a drop of 23.7% from the same time last year. Quartz surfaces, the longtime growth leader with imports, fell 26.8% year-over-year to $292.2 million for the first quarter.
With natural stone, marble declined 22.4% to $128.8 million, and granite went from $141 million in first-quarter 2025 to $63.3 million this year – a slide of 55.1%.
Quartzite imports managed to step up 7.2% year-over-year in value to $132.3 million. The stone overtook marble and granite to be the top natural-stone import – by value — for this year’s first quarter.
Shipment volume for hard-surfaces also took a corresponding drop in the first three months of this year. The nearly 49 million ft² of quartz surfaces moving through U.S. ports was 17.7% less than first-quarter 2025, with the 12.3 million ft² from India – the leading export country – is down by almost half at 49.4%.
Marble declined year-over-year by nearly 20% in first-quarter 2026 at 130,261 metric tons, with leading exporter Turkey toting up a 40% decline to just under 55,000 metric tons. Granite’s 113,000 metric tons for the first quarter is 45% less than the same time last year.
Even quartzite, with 107,531 metric tons, logged an 8% drop in shipment volume from first quarter 2025.
Why the steep declines? It’s easy to name two culprits – a slow construction and remodeling market, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs imposed by the Trump administration that especially hit leading U.S. hard-surface sources such as India and Brazil.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down those extra tariffs in late February. The ruling’s possible effect on hard-surface shipments wouldn’t be apparent in first-quarter numbers, given the four- to six-weeks needed to deliver goods via container ships from foreign ports.
If the extra tariffs slowed hard-surface imports, shipments should improve significantly In this year’s second quarter. If lower volume continues through June, however, it may be a signal of a continued market slowdown … or, in one plain word, recession.
