By Stephanie Chan • Staff Journalist
The world aggregates industry has enjoyed steady growth over nearly three decades, according to a new international report.
The XXV World Stone Report, authored by World Stone Magazine editor Professor Carlo Montani, showed that between 1990 and 2013, the volumes of aggregate globally increased 180 per cent from 46 million to 130 million tonnes, with consumption levels also rising 185 per cent during this period.
The growth trend continued in 2013 with the volume of quarried and processed materials increasing five per cent to 265 million tonnes compared to 2012.
During this time – a period the report labelled “another year of consolidation” – five countries dominated more than two-thirds of the world’s quarrying output. In order, these were China, India, Turkey, Brazil and Italy, with Asian countries accounting for more than 60 per cent of production.
“Since the 1960s, the balance of power has changed radically, with the top four producers – China, India, Turkey and Brazil – expanding from 30 per cent to 61 per cent global production,” Montani said in a press release.
In 2013, there was a 2.8 per cent rise in import/export volumes, highlighting a larger proportional expansion on domestic markets, although the export volume for China – the world’s largest producer – fell to 12.1 million tonnes, a four per cent downturn of 500,000 tonnes.
Global trade of unhewn and processed stone materials equated to more than 770 million equivalent square metres (m2) in 2013, with unhewn materials proving more popular. The unhewn material sector’s market share increased to 52.7 per cent, which indicated a “strategy that tends not to give priority to finished products”, according to the press release.
The report also found that more marble and granite had been used in the past five decades than in any previous era.
“In recent years, marble and stone have stood out for expansion better than the world economy [sic] and have suffered from the international crisis less than other sectors,” the press release stated. “Long-term trends seem to confirm this. Over the past decade, net production increased on average by seven per cent per year and global trade grew on average by more than 10 per cent in total.
“It should also be added that the use of marble and stone grew to a greater extent than ceramics, from 12 per cent in 2000 to 15 per cent today.”
Prices in the main markets remained generally stable, with some regions reporting growth.
With regards to the world stone industry’s outlook, Montani commented, “Stone boasts an extremely long history and will have an equally long future by combining technology, aesthetics and professional values. In a word – quality. Translated into numbers, prospects through to 2020 indicate a total output of at least 170 million tonnes, equal to 1.8 billion m2 equivalent.”
The annual World Stone Report has endeavoured to act as an analytical and informative tool for the global quarrying and aggregates industries for 25 years.
The full 2013 report – in Italian only – is available via www.worldstonemagazine.com