U.S. Hard-Surface Imports
Travertine
Volume
TOTAL 68,940 metric tons (-5.1%) Sector Leader Turkey, 53,752 metric tons (2.8%)
This is a sector where trying to find a bright side ignores the obvious. Turkey accounts for 78% of all U.S. travertine import tonnage in this year's first quarter, but its growth comes as other countries pare back.
Value
TOTAL $32,687,777 (-16.9%) Sector Leader Turkey, $20,894,561 (-14.1%)
Turkey dominates travertine, and its shipment values continue to fall on a monthly basis. Will other countries be able to afford to compete in the U.S. market?
Other Calcareous
Volume
TOTAL 30,117 metric tons (-17.2%) Sector Leader Turkey, 7,845 metric tons (-3.4%)
China's 5,880 metric tons in this year's first quarter represents a 25.6% decline, although it's not the biggest drop among sector leaders. Canada went from 3,629 metric tons in first-quarter 2018 to 1,301 metric tons this year -- a fall of 64.1%.
Value
TOTAL $30,118,951 (-6.4%) Sector Leader Italy, $6,741,730 (11%)
Italy shows a nice gain, but it rises to the top as China's first-quarter shipment value plummets 41.3% from the same time in 2018. Portugal and Turkey also show year-to-year declines.
Other Stone
Volume
TOTAL 91,446 metric tons (-5.4%) Sector Leader India, 35,153 metric tons (+1.8%)
India moves ahead, due mainly to lower shipments in February by Brazil. China's tonnage dropped every month this year from January through March.
Value
TOTAL $79,629,113 (+0.5%) Sector Leader Brazil, $33,608,800 (+2.9%)
A lousy February in volume didn't stop Brazil from showing a year-to-year gain in value for the first quarter. Border neighbors Canada and Mexico both showed 10%-plus declines from first-quarter 2018.