Containers photo by Tom Driggers • CC by 2.0
The following is sure to either shock, anger or delight nearly everyone in the hard-surfaces trade: Quartz just passed granite, and there’s data to prove it.
Granted, it’s just in U.S. materials imports, and it’s only one category (value) and one time period (2017’s third quarter), with quartz surfaces at $270.2 million and granite at $262 million. But it’s an overtake nonetheless, and the margin’s bound to be wider by year’s end.
As the numbers on dimensional-surfaces imports show, the change isn’t due to a downward spiral with granite. The stone took a tumble in 2016 and early 2017, but this year’s third quarter showed a slowdown in losses and a few upticks.
It’s hard, though, to fend off the advance of quartz surfaces, as the material continues with annual growth rates of more than 30%. Those import numbers also aren’t reflecting the quartz surfaces produced in the United States by Cambria, Caesarstone and LG Hausys America (under the Viatera® brand).
This year’s third quarter continued other trends seen at mid-year with U.S. surface imports. Travertine imports keep falling, while marble, calcareous stone and the catch-all other-stone category show nice gains … although marble may experience a slowdown by year’s end.
Let’s take a look at the numbers, as reported by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) and analyzed by Stone Update. All data comparisons are between July-September (third-quarter) and the first six months of 2017, with percentages noting the differences from the same periods in 2016. Also, numbers for granite and marble are for worked materials (cut, one side polished) as determined by the USITC’s 2016 Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
Volume
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Brazil, 172,020 metric tons (-14.6%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: Brazil, 526,748 metric tons (-10.6%)
Value
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Brazil, $111.0 million (-19.5%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: Brazil, $328.9 million (-13.6%)
Strong overall mid-year growth in U.S. dimensional granite imports failed to continue through 2017’s third quarter, but the drop-off can clearly be attributed to one country. Unfortunately, it’s also Brazil, the market leader.
Second-place China (102,489 metric tons, up 2.2%) offered only nominal growth. India sparked up 2017 third-quarter volume by 8.8%, while Spain jumped 26% and Canada cranked up granite shipments by 31.5%.
A very slow first quarter by China continued its effect on cumulative 2017 totals; the January-September volume of 293,402 metric tons translated to a 6.7% decline from the same time last year. India, Spain and Canada showed good gains, but all three combined still ship less than China.
Values trended downward for the sector leaders; China, like Brazil, showed declines of 9.7% and 11.1% for third-quarter and January-September, respectively. India, Spain and Canada noted increases in customs values all around, with India’s 9.3% year-to-date rise offering plenty of optimism.
Volume
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Italy, 26,807 metric tons (-3.1%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: China, 86,178 metric tons (11.3%)
Value
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Italy, $62.3 million (7.5%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: Italy, $175.1 million (-2.2%)
U.S. imports of marble in this year’s third quarter offer a tale of two charts, with volume climbing nicely and value growth heading to zero. The reason: Italy.
For years, Italy led the U.S. market for marble imports; in recent years, other countries such as China and Turkey shipped more but placed lower on the overall value of their stone. Italy commanded a premium for its marble (and still does), but it’s not enough anymore to solely claim the top spot.
Italy’s #1 in third-quarter marble-import volume is less than 1,000 metric tons more than Turkey (25,936 metric tons), with China following in third at 24,471 metric tons. For year-to-date through Sept. 30, Italy slipped to second at 76,573 metric tons, and Turkey slotted third at 65,760 metric tons.
The big gainer every quarter this year is India, with its January-September total of 49,943 metric tons representing a 51.3% gain from the same time last year.
Volume
Third Quarter 2017
- China, 17,206,159 ft² (51.6%)
- Spain, 5,083,435 ft² (35.5%)
- Israel, 2,170,6486 ft² (8.0%)
- Vietnam, 1,545,621 ft² (5.3%)
- Canada, 1,451,544 ft² (-3.3%)
- India, 1,419,823 ft² (52.8%)
- Italy, 486,636 ft² (13.5%)
- Turkey, 466,863 ft² (-4.3%)
- Portugal, 332,368 ft² (86.5%)
- Germany, 269,614 ft² (240.3%)
- China, $131,422,235 (86.8%)
- Spain, $51,292,432 (52.3%)
- Israel, $24,513,914 (3.4%)
- Vietnam, $17,913,043 (11.0%)
- Canada, $14,312,754 (-7.3%)
- India, $8,933,268 (-2.4%)
- Italy, $5,156,558 (-15.8%)
- Turkey, $4,561,850 (15.7%)
- Portugal, $2,889,705 (56.1%)
- Germany, $2,742,433 (-9.8%)
In quartz imports, there’s China … and then there’s everyone else. With no slowdown in sight, the only question to be settled at year’s end is whether China’s exports surpass 50 million-square-feet – an amazing growth from shipping only 8.8 million-square-feet to the United States in 2014. From January-September, China sent 41.8 million-square-feet to U.S. ports-of-entry, posting a 57.2% increase from the same time in 2016.
China’s boom obscures an outstanding 2017 performance-to-date by Spain. For January-September, Spain’s 14.7 million-square-feet shows a 29.4% increase; its total more than doubles Israel’s shipments of 6.6 million-square-feet. (Israel’s growth rate for the same time is a nominal 1.5%.)
The quartz-surfaces overtake of granite in value in 2017’s third quarter is fueled by China. It’s a rocket ride this year for China, going from $86.9 million (first quarter) to $111.6 million (second quarter) to $131.6 million (third quarter). The $330 million year-to-date total makes for a 57.4% increase from 2016.
The overwhelming performance at the top overwhelms (again) Spain’s impressive gains. The $139.6 million shipped from January-September represented a 40% gain from the same time last year – a more-than-subtle hint that Spanish quartz-surface exporters are shipping more premium material.
Volume
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Turkey, 65,133 metric tons (-24.7%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: Turkey, 201,437 metric tons -23.6%
Value
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Turkey, $28.5 million (-17%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: Turkey, $88.2 million (-17%)
Volume
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Canada, 12,990 metric tons (166.5%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: China, 32,340 metric tons (31.9%)
Value
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: China, $6.9 million (-10.7%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: China, $19.7 million (-4.9%)
Volume
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Brazil, 56,095 metric tons (-0.6%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: Brazil, 162,807 metric tons (18.4%)
Value
Third Quarter 2017
Market Leader: Brazil, $47.9 million (4.6%)
Jan.-Sept. 2017
Market Leader: Brazil, $140.2 million (20.7%)