Stone Industry Statistical Data

Stone is the world's original building and memorial material. It has been used for thousands of years and most of the oldest, remaining structures in the world are made from stone. Stone continues to be used in and on new structures. Its natural beauty and enduring quality is highly preferred.

Many economies have emerged from the global economic recession and the use of natural stone is resurging, continuing the trend and desire for natural stone begun centuries ago.

 

Recent Reports:

February 24, 2022: CAMBRIDGE, MA – Expenditures for improvements to the owner-occupied housing stock are expected to increase at a faster pace in most of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas this year, according to projections released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Read more

October 21, 2021: CAMBRIDGE, MA – Strong growth in home improvement and maintenance expenditures is expected to continue over the coming year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA projects year-over-year gains in annual improvement and repair spending will reach 9 percent in the fourth quarter and maintain that pace into 2022. Read more

January 21, 2021: CAMBRIDGE, MA – Annual gains in spending for improvements and repairs to owner-occupied homes are expected to be modestly higher in 2021 compared to last year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA projects an uptick in year-over-year growth of home renovation and repair expenditure from 3.5 percent at the close of 2020 to 3.8 percent by year-end 2021. Read more

October 15, 2020: CAMBRIDGE, MA – Moderate gains in homeowner spending for improvements and repairs are expected through much of next year as initial concerns of a possible pandemic-induced downturn have largely dissipated, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. With greater clarity about the pandemic’s impact on the US economy and given the surprising resilience of housing markets, the Remodeling Futures Program is no longer providing a downside range for its home remodeling outlook. The LIRA’s standard methodology projects annual growth in renovation and repair spending of 4.1 percent by the first quarter of 2021 with gains softening to 1.7 percent by the third quarter. Read more

FMI Report: North American Construction Outlook: The Outlook offers comprehensive construction forecasts for a broad range of market segments and geographies in the U.S. and Canada as well as information on key market drivers.

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The following links are for informational purposes only. The listed links are representative of information on the internet and are not comprehensive. No inferences should be drawn from whether or not a source is referenced. Natural Stone Institute is not responsible for broken or discontinued links. We welcome input on additional industry statistics for consideration to this industry resource.

Stone Industry Information

• North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) has replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. Developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, the NAICS provides new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America.
• Mineral Industry Survey-Dimension Stone (United States Quarried Granite Information) production, import and export data.
• Stone World Magazine statistics page: natural stone import and export data by country, US dollar amount and tonnage.
• Stone Update reviews and provides analysis of U.S. dimension stone imports. See www.stoneupdate.com/us-stone-imports.
• Ceramic Tile and Stone Consultants provides statistics on stone and ceramic tile sales.
• National Building Granite Quarries Association provides architectural, ASTM and GSA specifications and color classifications for North American quarried granite.

Countertop Industry Surveys & Market Research

• Floor Coverings Weekly Statistical Reports and Research
• Freedonia Group Countertop Demand & Sales Forecast
• "HIA Predictions regarding Kitchen Installations," Discovering Stone, Issue 23, Australian Stone Advisory Association (ASAA).
• "It's Time to Unite!" Discovering Stone, Issue 23, Australian Stone Advisory Association (ASAA).
• RICKI, the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence http://www.kitchentrends.org/.

New Construction Information

• ProBuilder, Economic Information provides market data for the residential construction industry.
• National Association of Home Builders, State & Local Data NAHB is not just for builders, but serves the whole home building industry. About one-third of NAHB's members are home builders and/or remodelers, while the remaining two-thirds work in closely related fields such as mortgage financing and building products.
   
• Fannie Mae's Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis group provides analysis of current and historical data, and forecasts economic trends in the housing and mortgage-finance markets
   
• The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) is a diffusion index derived from the monthly Work-on-the-Boards survey, conducted by the AIA Economics & Market Research Group.
   
• U.S. Census Bureau (Department of Commerce)/Forecasts and Table: Reed Construction Data
   
  • U.S. Total Construction Spending provides monthly estimates of the total dollar value of construction work done in the U.S.
     
  • Residential Construction This page provides national and regional data on the number of new housing units authorized by building permits; authorized, but not started; started; under construction; and completed.

Home Remodeling Information

• Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS), Harvard University publishes housing statistics and analyzes the state of US housing markets.
   
• The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) is based on a quarterly survey of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) remodeler members. The Index provides insight on current market conditions as well as future indicators for the remodeling market. 

• REMODELING magazine provides professional remodelers, contractors and designers with information about home remodeling, kitchen and bath design, renovation, building products, and business management.

International Stone Usage Reports

• litosonline.com supplies statistics concerning the global production and sale of natural stone materials, both raw materials and finished products.
   
• "The Natural Stone and Stone Products Market in the EU," CBI Market Survey, 2010.

Quarry Production

• The U.S. Geological Survey Dimension Stone Statistics & Information: http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/stone_dimension/
   
• Some members of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) specialize in quarry planning and economic development. Look for the designation "EconG" (Economic geology).
   
• Mineralogy Database: http://www.mindat.org/. On mindat.org, use the "Mineral Location Search" online form to look for specific minerals in specific locations. See http://www.mindat.org/minlocsearch.php.

Trade Shows

Trade Shows are an easy way to keep abreast of the changes in the natural stone industry. Ranging from new equipment to educational seminars, attending annual tradeshows will be a good investment. For a chronological list of upcoming events, please click here.

• StonExpo/Marmomac is the largest North American stone industry event serving fabricators, installers, retailers, distributors and architects. The event brings together buyers and sellers from all over the world to see the latest natural stone products, tools, services and technologies. StonExpo/Marmomacc also offers top-notch education and networking opportunities focused on creating new business opportunities and driving sales. It is co-located with two other world-class tradeshows, SURFACES and TileExpo, to create The International Surface Event (TISE), the largest, unparalleled event for the flooring, stone and tile industries. 

Other Economic Resources

• The NAHB's Economics Department, www.HousingEconomics.com.
   
• US Census: Survey of Residential Alterations and Repairs. NOTE: The U.S. Census Bureau has discontinued the Survey of Residential Alterations and Repairs (SORAR). The fourth quarter publication of 2007 is the last report of residential improvements and repairs data. See http://www.census.gov/construction/c50/c50index.html.
   
• U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, Series P-20, Population Characteristics.
   
• U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Reports, Series P-25, Population Estimates and Projections.
   
• U.S. Bureau of the Census, Construction Reports, Series H-111, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/.
   
• Bureau of Economic Analysis. http://www.bea.gov/.
   
• The Conference Board, Consumer Confidence Survey. http://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerconfidence.cfm.
   
• The International Monetary Fund: World Economic Outlook (WEO)