StatWatch, June 2018: The Quartz Tsunami

By Emerson Schwartzkopf

The prospect of getting a double-shot of punitive tariffs on Chinese-made quartz surfaces in early fall is pushing a flood of the surface into the U.S. market this summer.

In June, China – already the dominant leader in sending quartz surfaces to the United States – nearly doubled the volume shipped from the same time last year in the first clear reaction to possible import duties on the material, according to data from the U.S. Import Trade Commission and Stone Update analysis.

Other surfaces saw an ebb tide in U.S. imports. Granite, the former market leader, saw shipments decrease by almost a third from last June, with the biggest drop coming from, ironically, China.

QUARTZ

The growth of Chinese products in the U.S. quartz-surfaces market ramped up mightily in the last few years, but June imports are, well, stunning. The country’s exports to U.S. ports-of-entry totaled 9.93 million ft², a 95.5% gain from June 2017.

In fact, that 9.93 million ft² from one country eclipses the 9.91 million ft² total of all U.S. quartz-surface imports (from 20 countries) in June 2017. It also easily surpasses China’s previous high of 7.4 million ft², set this May.

While China moved up from May totals, nearly all the other exporting countries reduced U.S. quartz-surface shipments from May to June. Of the other nine of 10 top suppliers, only Vietnam increased the flow of the man-made surface as the U.S. building season moved into high gear.

Unsurprisingly, China’s huge push of shipments created another record month for U.S. quartz-surface imports, with the June total of 14.9 million ft² marking a 51.1% increase from a year ago.

June also offered the first month where shipments clearly reflected awareness of possible tariff action against China that could significantly raise the price of the country’s quartz surfaces in the United States.

The fates of two different tariff actions against Chinese quartz are still unknown in late August. The Trump administration’s proposed 25% blanket ad valorem on thousands of goods, including quartz surfaces and natural stone, may go into force next month.

Meanwhile, duties assessed for unfair trade practices, sought by U.S. manufacturer Cambria Company LLC, also may start phasing in next month after a study by the federal Department of Commerce.

GRANITE

U.S. imports of worked (sawn and one-side polished, at a minimum) granite, meanwhile, moved in the opposite direction of quartz surface … with China as a major player in sending totals down.

The 113,059 metric tons sent to the United States in June represented a 32.9% decline from a year ago. Much of the decline came from sector leader Brazil, dipping 36.7% from June 2017 shipments to 43,807 metric tons this year.

All of the Big Three of granite – Brazil, China and India – took a year-to-year fall in shipments. India’s 20,531 metric tons in June marked a 12.5% decline, while the 26,360 metric tons from China made for a 52.9% drop from June 2017. (To be fair, though, China’s total this June is barely 1,000 metric tons less than this May.)

There’s one bright spot for granite: Canada, where the 8,976 metric tons sent south of the border in June topped totals from a year ago by 85.1%. However, that’s also an abnormally high monthly number for Canadian granite shipments, and may be more of a one-time blip than a coming trend.

MARBLE

Turkey continued a 10-month dominance of U.S worked-marble imports in June 2018, and single-handedly boosted the sector to a year-to-year gain.

In June, marble imports totaled 45,343 metric tons for an 8.4% increase from the same time last year. Turkey’s big push accounted for the sector’s overall positive growth; of the leading five countries sending marble to the United States, only two shipped more in 2018 than 2017.

The 17,512 metric tons sent by Turkey represented a 134.1% gain from June 2017, and far outstripped second-place China with its 7,886 metric tons (year-to-year: -18.9%). India moved ahead to third with 7,192 metric tons (13.0%), while former sector king Italy slipped into fourth at 6,618 metric tons (-29.6%). Brazil rounded out the top five exporters to the United States with 2,912 metric tons (-31.9%).

TRAVERTINE

Turkey’s momentum in marble exports failed to cross over to travertine shipments, as the country and the sector continued to trail 2017 totals.

The 27,790 metric tons of travertine received in June accounted for a 18.9% decline from the same time last year. Turkey’s share of U.S. imports – 20,903 metric tons – showed a 14.9% dip from June 2017.

Second-place Mexico shipped 4,246 metric tons, a 22.5% year-to-year decline. Italy – the only other country to ship more than 1,000 metric tons – scored a 115.7% increase from June 2017, but with only 1,001 metric tons.

For more information on U.S. hard-surface imports for the first half of 2018, look for coverage in the September-October Stone Update Magazine, available exclusively online in late September.

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