Port-of-Entry
Quartz Slabs: Never Mind
The October 2022 volume numbers for quartz slab imports are missing. When the revised data becomes available, we'll publish it. However, if you saw Hard-Surface Report before Christmas 2022, there were numbers available. Unfortunately, those numbers were wrong.
The month-to-month changes in the initial report were astounding. The September total volume of 21.9 million ft² sank to 7.5 million ft² for October. India dropped from 7.9 million ft² to 1.7 million ft². Spain crashed from 5 million ft² to 1.1 million ft².
Hard-Surface Report immediately double-checked about the sudden and dramatic changes, and waited until someone with the U.S. International Trade Commision (USITC), which makes the numbers available, could comment. The answer: U.S. Census Bureau, which collects the raw data, received complaints about the large numbers on quartz-slab import volumes and came to the initial conclusion that there was an error in totaling the numbers.
The Census Bureau noted that readjusted data for January-September 2022 would be released at an unspecified date. With that official answer, Hard-Surface Report published the revised data.
And then, late last week, we received another answer from the USITC: The Census Bureau had the numbers right all along. Those drastic reductions in quartz-slab shipments didn't happen. The January-September numbers, as previously reported, are correct. Revised data for October are coming on an irregular basis, and also includes a slight refiguring of shipment values.
Hard-Surface Report is republishing the latest issue to reflect the reversal by the Census Bureau. Currently, you're looking at the second revision of this issue, including a new total for all shipments and specifically for Spain. And, we'll republish yet again when new numbers on October quartz-slab shipments are released.
