StatWatch: U.S. Stone Imports, April 2011
TRAVERTINE VALUE
Total: $21.7 million (12.9%)
Sector leader: Turkey @ $14.3 million (17.8%)
Backfill: The stone keeps moving up in 2011, fueled mainly by Turkey; Mexico, the other major travertine exporter to the United States, ships $4.3 million in April 2011, up 1.5% from the previous year. Peru’s $936K offers an 18.4% gain from last April, and China’s $567K shows a 37.5% gain. Only Italy is a bit stiff among the major players, with its $901K trailing last April by 29.1%.
TRAVERTINE VOLUME
Total: 45,364 metric tons (12.3%)
Sector leader: Turkey @ 35,989 metric tons (9.8%)
Backfill: Turkey’s on a roll in 2011 with its third straight month of increases in travertine hitting U.S. ports-of-entry; Mexico contributes nicely with 5,461 metric tons, up 5.5% from April 2010. China continues its strong showing in travertine volume with 1,628 metric tons, a 307.0% gain from last year. Peru ships 942 metric tons for a 17.5% lead on last April; Italy, meanwhile, drops 38.6% with its 508 metric tons.
OTHER CALCAREOUS VALUE
Total: $8.4 million (7.8%)
Sector leader: Italy @ $1.6 million (22.4%)
Backfill: This may be the happiest spot in StatWatch, as all eight countries shipping more than $500K of the stone are ahead of last April. Portugal takes a solid second with $1 million in value, up 36.3% from last April, while Israel’s $888K is a 114.5% jump from last year. If only there wasn’t this problem about Lebanon and its massive shipments of cheap other calcareous disappearing last May.
OTHER CALCAREOUS VOLUME
Total: 12,054 metric tons (-80.9%)
Sector leader: Mexico @ 4,962 metric tons (1,038.1%)
Backfill: An 80-percent lag from the previous year looks dreadful, but it’s the next-to-last month of the market-inflating Lebanon Effect. In fact, if you eliminate the 45K+ of Lebanese stone and 9K of an abnormal shipment from Spain in April 2010, last year would pale in comparison to this April’s totals. Trying to figure current market trends by tonnage is a mess, however; Mexico’s current total far outstrips the monthly average of recent years. Portugal may be the strongest in the long run; its 1,067 metric tons this April is a 73.5% increase from last year.
SLATE VALUE
Total: $3.6 million (-15.8%)
Sector leader: India @ $1.5 million (-29.5%)
Backfill: China doesn’t look so hot either, with import values declining by 18% from last year; at least the $1.2 million total for this April puts the country in the seven-figure club again. Brazil takes back its distant third with $378K, up 18.7% from last April.
OTHER STONE VALUE
Total: $11.4 million (-39.2%)
Sector leader: India @ $3.6 million (-40.4%)
Backfill: The catch-all sector of stone imports continues its 2011 bender with its worst month in years. The other million-dollar-plus players continue to slip from April 2010 amounts: Brazil (-58.3%), China (-8.8%) and Canada (-19.5%). Down the line, there’s some improvement with Mexico ($447K, up 5.7%) and Turkey ($369K, up 25.4%).
OTHER STONE VOLUME
Total: 14,247 metric tons (-39.0%)
Sector leader: India @ 4.489 metric tons (-38.2%)
Backfill: There’s not much good to report here, either, as second place Brazil shows shipments of 3,469 metric tons, down 60.7% from last year. The only bright spot in the top five countries is Turkey; the 1,125 metric tons shipped here in April is a 108.7% rise from 2010.