StatWatch December 2019: Goodbye & Hello

By Emerson Schwartzkopf

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This is the final StatWatch column from stoneupdate.com. It’s not the end of our coverage, however … next month, it’s going to get bigger and better.

I’ll elaborate more on that, but first to December 2019 hard-surface imports — with at least one sector getting bigger and better despite continue tariff turmoil.

Shipments of quartz slabs to U.S. ports-of-entry jumped nearly 65% in December 2019 from the previous year, right in the face of new preliminary tariffs announced that month on imports from India and Turkey. Indian exporters scaled back shipments, but Turkey began turning up the volume of quartz-slab exports to the United States … and Malaysia went from nowhere in 2018 to fourth on the list of U.S. suppliers.

Worked marble showed growth at the end of last year, but only due to massive shipments from Turkey. Granite, meanwhile, went back to the negative after a good November 2019, and other sectors followed with double-digit declines from December 2018.

The biggest declines in all but one sector belong to one country: China. Turkey recorded the biggest drop in travertine, but China fell hardest in all other categories. The numbers from China aren’t likely to get better, given the country’s economic slowdown, the continued trade war with the United States, and effects from the coronavirus shutdown.

So how will you follow this,and everything else in imports, without the monthly StatWatch column? There’s going to be an entire magazine covering U.S. hard-surface imports, beginning next month, with Hard-Surface Report. You’ll get news updates, along with expanded and enhanced charts in an illustrative, easy-to-follow format.

Hard-Surface Report — which, like all other Stone Update products, will be available exclusively online and free — will debut in mid-March. Keep watching stoneupdate.com and reading Slab & Sheet, our twice-monthly e-newsletter, to see it go live for the industry.

QUARTZ SLABS

Uncertainly about preliminary unfair-trade tariffs (announced early in December) likely makes Indian quartz-surface exporters wary of the U.S. market at year’s end, altthough fellow tariff target Turkey stepped up from December 2018 imports. Meanwhile, Malaysia muscles up the U.S. import charts to fourth — an amazing achievement, since the country didn’t start shipping here until earlier in 2019.

U.S. Imports: Quartz Slab
(square feet)
19-Dec 18-Dec Change
TOTAL 11,030,565 6,703,682 64.5%
Top 25
Spain 3,330,254 1,328,427 150.7%
Vietnam 1,652,711 278,408 493.6%
Israel 1,085,389 351,721 208.6%
Malaysia 887,182 0 N/A
India 672,195 1,821,790 -63.1%
Canada 595,265 477,497 24.7%
Turkey 511,867 396,381 29.1%
Taiwan 433,871 115,863 274.5%
Italy 380,472 215,902 76.2%
South Korea 321,905 285,254 12.8%
Germany 254,222 138,133 84.0%
Brazil 192,825 131,632 46.5%
Belgium 156,130 19,590 697.0%
Czech Republic 150,856 129,910 16.1%
Portugal 104,980 108,629 -3.4%
China 68,781 896,697 -92.3%
Philippines 58,932 0 N/A
Mexico 36,500 0 N/A
Estonia 32,087 0 N/A
Thailand 29,504 0 N/A
Hong Kong 26,598 7,384 260.2%
Algeria 14,294 0 N/A
United Arab Em 11,571 0 N/A
Oman 8,697 0 N/A
Greece 5,985 0 N/A
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

 

WORKED GRANITE

Two of worked (sawn, one-side polished) granite’s Big Three — Brazil and China — falter in December shipments, pushing the sector back into the red to finish 2019. India brings good news with its increase of nearly 15% from December 2018..

U.S. Imports: Worked Granite    
(metric tons)
19-Dec 18-Dec Change
TOTAL 95,235 125,078 -23.9%
Top Countries
Brazil 39,070 52,635 -25.8%
China 23,855 44,744 -46.7%
India 18,361 16,009 14.7%
Spain 5,872 5,700 3.0%
Canada 3,897 1,738 124.2%
Italy 2,882 3,071 -6.2%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

 

WORKED MARBLE

Turkey continues to keep total worked-marble imports in the positive at year’s end as other countries fail to reach 2018 levels. China’s halving of its shipments from December 2018 is a troublesome pre-coronavirus indicator.

U.S. Imports: Worked Marble    
(metric tons)      
  19-Dec 18-Dec Change
TOTAL 43,250 38,497 12.3%
       
Top Countries
Turkey 21,228 9,406 125.7%
Italy 6,421 7,210 -10.9%
India 5,524 6,185 -10.7%
China 4,613 9,366 -50.7%
Brazil 3,095 3,118 -0.7%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

 

 TRAVERTINE

U.S.Imports: Travertine    
(metric tons)      
  19-Dec 18-Dec Change
TOTAL 17,808 25,678 -30.6%
       
Top Countries      
Turkey 12,054 21,063 -42.8%
Mexico 3,018 2,892 4.4%
Italy 1,673 797 109.9%
China 334 371 -10.0%
Peru 323 314 2.9%
Spain 273 89 206.7%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

 

OTHER CALCAREOUS

U.S. Imports: Other Calcareous    
(metric tons)      
  19-Dec 18-Dec Change
TOTAL 7,767 10,350 -25.0%
       
Top Countries      
Portugal 1,141 1,151 -0.9%
China 1,105 2,405 -54.1%
Turkey 1,077 1,375 -21.7%
Canada 933 1,234 -24.4%
Mexico 573 360 59.2%
Spain 430 419 2.6%
Italy 426 734 -42.0%
Israel 253 124 104.0%
Dominican Republic 223 407 -45.2%
India 221 206 7.3%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

 

OTHER STONE

U.S. Imports: Other Stone    
(metric tons)      
  19-Dec 18-Dec Change
TOTAL 24,121 27,109 -11.0%
       
Top Countries      
Brazil 7,819 6,828 14.5%
India 5,934 9,023 -34.2%
China 5,074 6,703 -24.3%
Italy 1,423 1,670 -14.8%
Canada 1,373 1,057 29.9%
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Stone Update analysis

 

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