USITC Staff Report: Quartz Surfaces from India and Turkey staff report USITC | Page 98

Part V: Pricing data
Factors affecting prices
Raw material costs
Quartz surface products usually consist of 93 to 94 percent ground quartz. Quartz is one
of the most common minerals in the earth’s crust, and it is also one of the hardest naturally
occurring minerals. The remaining components of quartz slabs are a combination of resins,
polymers, particulates, and pigments. 1 Raw material costs, as a share of all U.S. producers’ total
cost of goods sold (COGS), increased from *** percent to *** percent from 2017 to 2019. 2
Transportation costs to the U.S. market
Transportation costs for quartz surface products shipped from subject countries to the
United States averaged 8.5 percent for India and 7.4 percent for Turkey during 2019. These
estimates were derived from official import data and represent the transportation and other
charges on imports. 3
U.S. inland transportation costs
Three of six responding U.S. producers and 41 of 47 importers reported that they
typically arrange transportation to their customers. Most U.S. producers reported that their
U.S. inland transportation costs ranged from 0.2 to 9.0 percent while 14 of 26 importers’
reported costs ranged from 0.1 to 5.0 percent. 4
1
Quartz Surface Products from China, Investigation Nos. 701-TA-606 and 731-TA-1416 (Final) Staff
Report, INV-RR-048, May 31, 2019, p. V-1.
2
U.S. producers’ raw material costs includes the seven slab producers, three fabricators, and one
integrated producer.
3
The estimated transportation costs were obtained by subtracting the customs value from the c.i.f.
value of the imports for 2019 and then dividing by the customs value based on the HTS subheading
6810.99.0010.
4
Other reported transportation costs were 5.6 percent, 7 percent (2 importers), 8 percent (2
importers), 9 percent (1 importer), 10 percent (2 importers), 15 percent (1 importer), and 20 percent (1
importer).
V-1