Port-of-Entry

The General View: December ended 2021 on a high note, as hard-surface import values increased by 8.3% from November and 21.3% from December 2020. And pre-pandemic? The growth from December 2019 is an astonishing 48.2%. The Expected: Quartz slabs maintained the prime position in U.S. hard-surface import value and volume, with the 18.1 million ft² in December outpacing the same time in 2021 by 30.4%. But …. The Unexpected: … quartz-slab import flow wavered a bit in December. The $151.7 million in value is far ahead of previous Decembers, but 2.3% less than November 2021. Month-to-month volume stayed all but flat – up a mere 0.3% from November – and only Vietnam posted a major gain (11.1%) among the top five exporters to the States. The Strange: China’s been the strongest supplier of non-roofing slate for years, but December unveiled a new challenger. Brazil’s $1.5 million in import values pulled into a surprise second behind China’s $1.7 million. Next Month: December through February traditionally marks less demand in the U.S. market for hard surfaces. The first month of the Queasy Quarter is surprisingly strong, but we’re only a third of the way through the bottom of the cycle.