U.S. Stone Imports 2011: A Little Bit Better

March 7, 2012

The apex of U.S. imports of other calcareous came in 2008, when Lebanon contributed 44% of the 1.09 million metric tons shipped. Unless a future federal law mandates the use of limestone for every new patio built in this country, one million tons of imported other calcareous is a peak that likely will not be reached again in our lifetimes.

SLATE

The best thing to note on slate imports for 2011 is that our neighbors to the north came to the rescue to ward off a larger loss.

Slate Value
	2011	2010	Change
China	$23,625,435	$23,884,171	-1.1%
India	$19,715,665	$22,475,639	-12.3%
Brazil	$4,849,596	$4,628,617	4.8%
Canada	$2,442,326	$869,317	180.9%
United Kingdom	$1,919,603	$1,865,771	2.9%
Spain	$1,057,998	$663,545	59.4%
All Others	$2,068,698	$2,371,212	-12.8%
Total	$55,679,321	$56,758,272	-1.9%

With 80% of import values coming from two countries – China and India – it’s easy for the sector to fall if one has a down year. In 2011, India knocked some of the wind out of the slate market with a 12.3% decline. The offset came mainly from Canada, which neatly doubled its previous record of $1.14 million in 2006.

However, Canada could keep doubling its slate exports annually for quite a while before U.S. slate imports would rise back up to the 2006 peak of $130.8 million.

OTHER STONE

This omnibus category of stone, including everything that isn’t granite, calcareous or slate, seemed to hold its own as everything else took steep declines in 2008. It’s now in sharp decline, both in value and in volume.

Other Stone Value
	2011	2010	Change
India	$54,663,752	$65,218,916	-16.2%
Brazil	$41,376,816	$72,900,771	-43.2%
China	$23,203,075	$22,061,454	5.2%
Canada	$18,142,240	$19,720,906	-8.0%
Italy	$14,961,471	$14,517,783	3.1%
Mexico	$6,127,396	$5,856,236	4.6%
All Others	$16,930,043	$22,761,868	-25.6%
Total	$175,404,793	$223,037,934	-21.4%

Other Stone Volume (metric tons)
	2011	2010	Change
India	63,764	76,159	-16.3%
Brazil	50,179	100,173	-49.9%
China	32,491	33,333	-2.5%
Canada	17,461	21,239	-17.8%
Italy	17,447	7,613	129.2%
Mexico	6,924	8,068	-14.2%
All Others	23,883	35,266	-32.3%
Total	212,149	281,851	-24.7%

Data for this article, and for accompanying charts, is derived from information reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. International Trade Commission. All analysis is made using comparable data. “Cut /slab” data excludes crude/roughly trimmed stone comprised of marble/travertine, granite or other categories where volume measurement is in cubic meters instead of metric tons.

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