April Repeat for U.S. Granite Imports

U.S. imports of dimensional granite in April moved up in year-to-year comparison … but only by less than 1%.

The virtual dead heat for marble isn’t reflected in with other surfaces, with big gains again from 2014 for marble and quartz, according to the exclusive Stone Update analysis of data from the U.S International Trade Commission.

“Worked” (at least partially finished) granite shipments to the United States in April totaled 141,692 metric tons (MT). That’s only a 0.3% increase from April 2014, with the lack of further growth coming from one country: China.

Brazil, the sector leader, shipped 70,593 MT for its best month this year, but that total is 2.3% less than April 2014. China, at 23,659 MT this April, showed its worst month of 2015 and also fell behind 2014 totals by 36.3%.

India, meanwhile, continued strong growth for the second month in a row; it marked its best month of 2015 with 33,174 MT (+69.6% from April 2014). Italy fell further into the mid-level pack of U.S. granite suppliers, with this April’s 5,429 MT ranking 4.7% less than a year ago.

Italy remains strong in U.S. worked marble imports, but it dropped to second place in this year’s back-and-forth top-spot battle with Turkey. Italy shipped 9,063 this April, offering its best performance of 2015 and an 11.1% gain from a year ago. Turkey, however, led April 2015 with 9,501 MT – also this year’s best month, and 196.2% ahead of the previous April.

Total worked-marble U.S. imports continued its dynamic growth trend in April 2015, with the 30,781 MT arriving in stateside ports-of-entry surpassing the previous April’s tonnage by 40.6%.

Worked marble’s growth rate in U.S. imports still doesn’t match quartz-slab shipments. The 4.96 million ft² received stateside this April represents another all-time record month for the material, and overwhelms the previous April’s total by 56.4%

Spain scored its first lead position in 2015, with April 2015 shipments of 1.24 million ft² representing a 57.4% gain from 2014. China followed close behind with 1.21 million ft², besting its April 2014 totals by 165.8%.

Israel, meanwhile, dropped 10.6% in year-to-year quartz-slab imports, albeit showing a respectable 913,177 ft² for April 2015. The shipping pace from Israel is headed for change later this year, as Caesarstone’s new U.S. manufacturing plant in Richmond Hill, Ga., ramps up production.

The only major stone sector to show a year-to-year loss this April is travertine, with its 40,334 MT showing a 29.5% decline. A 4,000 MT one-time increase from Italy in April 2014 skewed the comparison, but not by much – with the 2014 Italian bump factored out, there’s still a 24.2% drop this year.

Sector-master Turkey accounted for the bulk of the decline, with the April 2015 shipments of 33,323 MT trailing the previous year by 26.0%. Turkey’s travertine totals this April also show the smallest monthly shipments since January 2014.

Here’s a summary of April 2015 stone-sector totals and top-five leaders in U.S. imports (% gain/loss from April 2014 in parentheses):

Worked Granite
Total: 142,692 MT (+0.3%)

1. Brazil, 70,593 MT (-2.3%)
2. India, 33,174 MT (+69.6%)
3. China, 23,659 MT (-36.3%)
4. Italy, 5,429 MT (-4.7%)
5. Spain, 3,802 MT (+40.0%)

Worked Marble
Total: 30,781 MT (+40.6%)

1. Turkey, 9,501 MT (+196.2%)
2. Italy, 9,063 MT (+11.1%)
3. China, 5,361 MT (74.1%)
4. Spain, 2,299 MT (-12.3%)
5. India, 1,633 MT (37.9%)

Quartz Slabs
Total: 4,964,612 ft²

1. Spain, 1,242,704 ft² (+57.4%)
2. China, 1,211,703 ft² (+165.8%)
3. Israel, 913,177 ft² (-10.6%)
4. Canada, 489,564 ft² (37.6%)
5. Vietnam, 437,682 ft² (131.1%)

Travertine
Total: 40,334 MT (-29.5%)

1. Turkey, 33,323 MT (-29.5%)
2. Mexico, 4,537 MT (-22.6%)
3. China, 874 MT (+27.7%)
4. Italy, 788 MT (-15.4%)
5. Peru, 522 MT (-43.9%)

Other Calcareous
Total: 9,839 MT (-21.9%)

1. China, 2,078 MT (+22.7%)
2. Italy, 1,063 MT (-26.3%)
3. Canada, 1,058 MT (+408.7%)
4. Turkey, 951 MT (-26.7%)
5. Portugal, 882 MT (-28.1%)

Other Stone
Total: 21,350 MT (-13.5%)

1. Brazil, 6,867 MT (-21.3%)
2. India, 6,664 MT (-9.0%)
3. China, 3,287 MT (-11.3%)
4. Canada, 1,311 MT (+65.1%)
5. Italy, 986 MT (-14.2%)

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