U.S. Stone Imports, August 2011
TRAVERTINE VOLUME
Total: 52,082 metric tons (38.2%)
Sector leader: Turkey @ 38,382 metric tons (36.9%)
Backfill: Close your eyes and it’s 2005 again, with a growth curve headed for Mars, with Italy showing a 54.8% gain from August 2010 at 1,286 metric tons and Peru scoring a 18.3% gain at 885 metric tons. Mexico, however, takes a 8.3% step down at 5,240 metric tons. And, like Canada last month, China gets a mysterious inflation of shipments – from 1,679 metric tons this July to 5,706 metric tons a month later.
OTHER CALCAREOUS VALUE
Total: $8.6 million (1.9%)
Sector leader: China @ $1.3 million (38.6%)
Backfill: It’s another round of musical chairs for this sector, with China taking the lead again with Italy a close second at $1.2 million (down 4.0% from August 2010). All the other countries dip below the seven-figure mark; last month’s front-runner, Portugal slips to $991K (down 1.6% from the previous August). Meanwhile, it’s double-digit annual growth for France ($891K, 14.2%) and Spain ($855K, up 21.6%).
OTHER CALCAREOUS VOLUME
Total: 8,433 metric tons (10.0%)
Sector leader: China @ 1,457 metric tons (60.3%)
Backfill: The rollercoaster brings Canada to the fore with 1,009 metric tons, up 149.1% from August 2010, while Portugal drops to 802 metric tons (down 16.7%). Pakistan, with 1,065 metric tons shipped this July, sends just 45 metric tons in the next month; and Mexico, with two 9,000+ metric-ton months earlier this year, accounts for only 485 metric tons in August.
SLATE VALUE
Total: $5.3 million (-11.7%)
Sector leader: China @ $2.5 million (-3.1%)
Backfill: Slate’s up-and-down year hits the down button, with India’s $1.9 million adding up to a 20.4% decline from the previous August. The United Kingdom also hits the skids this year, going from a high of $352K in March to only $26K this August. Brazil provides welcome contrary relief with a 5.9% gain from August 2010 with its $560K.
OTHER STONE VALUE
Total: $16.8 million (-26.1%)
Sector leader: India @ $5.1 million (-26.5%)
Backfill: Beating August 2010 comes easily for China ($2.9 million, up 49.2%) and Italy ($1.8 million, up 37.8%), but they can’t offset losses from sector leader India and Brazil ($3.3 million, down 58.2%). Canada’s positive position from this July turns round in the following month, with its $1.4 million falling 18.7% behind the previous August.
OTHER STONE VOLUME
Total: 19,071 metric tons (-35.0%)
Sector leader: India @ 6,096 metric tons (-28.6%)
Backfill: China offers the only shard of good news in August, with its 3,680 metric tons beating the previous year by 21.9%. Otherwise, the performances range from dismal (Canada, 1,946 metric tons, down 11.4%) to painful (Brazil, 3,774 metric tons, down 64.9%).
Get all the latest in the industry with The EDGE, the e-newsletter from Stone Update. Free subscriptions are available here.
