Port-of-Entry

There are a few changes with Hard-Surface Report for this month, and all issues going forward.

Porcelain Tile & Slab is no longer being reported. The problem is with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes used to tally U.S. imports, as any piece 12" X 12" is considered "large format." At this time, it's impossible to accurately pull any data on larger pieces, such as planks and slabs. We knew this when we started reporting porcelain import statistics, and we hoped there'd be a change to reflect the larger pieces. Until that happens, we'll leave porcelain out of the mix.

Quartzite, however, is being added this month. It was part of the Other Stone data until mid-2023, when shipments began coming through U.S. ports-of-entry under a separate HTS code. Old habits on HTS reporting are hard to break, and we wanted to make sure there was at least two years of data before going live with the category.

Other Stone remains as a category. but it's smaller without quartzite. The data on the charts are adjusted for trhe breakout of quartz from 2024 until today.

The Number chart reflects these changes, mainly with a large drop in the total due to the exclusion of porcelain. The final tally is about one-third less than previously reported, but it's also closer to revealing dimensional-stone trends in imports.

And, we've made another time jump of one month, skipping over January to publish February import data. The charts reflect changes from January to February; the only thing missing is country-by-country numbers for January. We're still catching up from last year's federal goverment shutdown, and the lack of new information for months.

We thought it was important to get the freshest information out as quick as possible. We'll fill in the gap later this spring and get full January data online.