StatWatch: October 2010
Granite’s recovery at the start of Fourth Quarter 2010 is robust; although marble is in the doldrums and travertine is declining from a peak in mid-summer. Other calcareous, meanwhile, is just plain wacky.
Category: Import Trends
StatWatch: May 2010
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
Editor, Stone Business
Good gains continue with granite and marble as the import market begins to recover. Travertine looks static, other calcareous is weak, and slate suffers from China dropping its export of the stone by a third.
StatWatch: April 2010
A mainly positive report for the latest month available, especially with granite and marble. Travertine is a bit moribund, while slate and other calcareous still work out recovery strategies.
Carrara: ’09 U.S. Imports Stumble
CARRARA, Italy – An upcoming study of worldwide dimensional stone shows a tonnage drop by more than 10 percent from 2007 to 2009.
StatWatch: December 2009
At least the year didn’t end as awful as it began with stone imports, and some countries show positive numbers in a few categories. Overall, though, shipments remain well behind December 2008 totals.
StatWatch: October 2009
Dimensional-stone imports show a few bright spots, and the worst seems to be over. Overall, though, don’t think it’s getting that much better.
Imports Mid ’09: Less of the Same
When times get bad, someone wanting to inch towards the positive usually offers the old saw about seeing the glass half-full, not half-empty.
With U.S. dimensional-stone imports in 2009, maybe the best thing to say is that the glass is just, well, half.
StatWatch: July 2009
One bright spot shines brilliantly in a stew of gloomy import numbers. It may look good, but don’t start the brass band until an occasional good number becomes a trend.
StatWatch: June 2009
Dimensional-stone imports remain in the doldrums, lagging far behind last year’s totals. The road to recovery may still be a few intersections away.
Import Trends 2008
In the world market, the United States shapes up as the nation with the biggest appetite for natural stone – and, in 2008, the country went on a crash diet.