Port-of-Entry

The General View: The growth cycle for U.S. hard-surface imports sputtered to a stop in June. The $436.6 million in customs value represented a decline – albeit a negligible one -- from the previous month (-1.5%) and previous year (-1.0%).

The Expected: Most sectors dropped in value from May, including the two biggest: quartz surfaces (-2.7%) and porcelain tile/slab (-2.5%). Porcelain’s volume of 110.5 million f² marked a month-over-month decline of only 0.6%, while quartz surfaces from May to June slowed 2.2% in shipments to 19.5 million f².

The Unexpected: Granite reversed yet again in 2024, with the $56 million in value rising 4.5% from May for the largest month-over-month gain in hard-surface imports. Shipments also rose 3% from the previous month to 90,648 metric tons, although June lags in year-over-year volume by -10.1%.

The Strange: Other calcareous – anything in the calcium-carbonate category that isn’t marble or travertine – had its best month since July 2022, posting $11.6 million in value for June. The 14,449 metric tons of volume also marked a two-year high in shipments.

Next Month: Mid-year seems an odd time for the hard-surface market to take a pause. If June is a sign of full material inventories at a time when demand should be high for construction, we could be seeing the start of a slowdown. Having quartz-surface import volumes grow more than 12% faster than values in the first half of 2024 also hints at an international buyer’s market for the leading hard surface, and that’s potentially not good news, either. July data will tell us a lot more.