2020 brought the natural stone sector an increased despite the Covid-19 crisis

In 2020, there were positives and negatives for the natural stone sector:

Private demand for natural stone increased. The money that consumers would normally have spent on travel or culture, they have now invested in beautifying their homes and apartments. For example while U.S. economic output declined by (-) 3.5 % in 2020, there was a (+)3 % increase in private housing investment.

Also, with the commercial buildings the stone industry seems to have come well over the year. In any case, the projects that had been started were completed. As for follow-up orders for this year, the positive indications outweigh the negative ones. However, projects related to tourism and entertainment are on hold. Hotels will not be re-planned for the coming years. At most, there will be modernizations of the existing ones. The same applies to major infrastructure projects. For the stone industry, this means that fewer natural stone will be sold in 2021. But in total, the reduced volumes should achieve good prices.

The transport industry worldwide is completely out of balance. Currently freight costs are extremely high.

The exciting question at the moment revolves around what will happen if costs do not return to pre-Covid-19 levels. Some people are predicting that.

The fight against climate change has also reached the stone industry: architects are demanding clear information from suppliers about the carbon footprint of materials. Here, the stone sector is in a very good position. However, it needs to highlight these strengths more clearly in its marketing, as the president of the US Natural Stone Institute told us in a recent interview.