November 2020: Overview

The General View: Mixed results throughout hard-surface sectors puts November at virtually the same level as October. Total customs value of imports tops $390 million; it’s the first time for three consecutive $390M months since June-August 2018. The Expected: Quartz slabs set another record in customs value with $121.4 million in November. Vietnam moves close to sector leader India in shipment values, but still a distant second in square-footage at U.S. ports-of-entry. The Unexpected: The catch-all Other Stone sector is on fire with a 64% increase in volume from November 2019. Brazil, India and China push ahead aggressively, most likely with quartzite slabs. The Strange: No growth in worked granite volume is a odd-but-welcome bit of good news for countries exporting to the United States. Volume dropped by a tiny 0.4% from November 2019, but overall values increased by nearly 20%. Somebody’s getting more for their slabs overseas. Next Month: Every statistic from past years points to a December drop-off in hard-surface imports. A slower rate of shipments won’t necessarily be bad news – but keep an eye out for serious plunges in some natural-stone sectors.