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Summary of our market study
French marble production is in decline, at around 100 million euros.
The global marble market, estimated at over 86 billion USD in 2023, is growing at 4% a year.
Italy remains Europe's leading producer, accounting for 63% of European marble output, followed by Greece and Spain.
China dominates marble imports, with a 68% share, while Turkey leads the way in exports, with 35%.
Finished marble products are used in the construction, building, funeral and art industries.
Italy accounts for 60-65% of European production. Recently, countries such as China, India and Turkey have emerged as formidable competitors, offering highly competitive prices.
The construction and real estate sectors are major buyers of marble. The interior design and decoration sectors, valued at between 25 and 27 billion euros, divided equally between furnishings and interior decoration, are also major consumers of marble.
Granite and similar rocks eclipse marble in terms of production on the French market, taking the lion's share with over 50%, compared with 10-12% for marble.
Global and French marble industry players
- Italy is the undisputed leader in the marble industry, thanks to its rich history and the quality of its stone. The Carrara quarries stand out as a source of top-quality white marble. Antolini and Henraux are two leading Italian companies.
- Turkey has become a powerhouse in marble exports, taking advantage of its large reserves and competitive production costs and companies like Temmer Marble,
- China has become a major player in the marble market. The country is both a major importer and exporter of marble, thanks in particular to the growth of regions such as Guangxi.
- The Greek marble industry holds its own, in particular with marble from the island of Thassos and companies such as Philippides Marble of Thassos.
- Despite the decline of the domestic industry, France is still home to companies committed to quality and craftsmanship in the production of marble for decorative purposes and in niche markets such as the funeral industry.
- E-commerce platforms have become important distribution channels, offering consumers greater choice and convenience.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
The marble market in France refers to the economic activity related to the production and sale of marble.
It is a calcareous rock in the form of calcite, whose surface is layered with fissures made of natural minerals of various colors. The basic color of calcite is white, but there is a wide variety of colored marbles due to different sedimentary structures. Marble is composed of the mineral calcite (CaCO3) and also contains other minerals such as clay minerals, micas, quartz, pyrite, iron oxides and graphite. It is used as a decorative rock, in art ( sculpture in particular) or for interior design.
The market can be segmented according to
- Marble type and color (white, black, yellow, red, etc.)
- Final application (building and decoration, statues and monuments, furniture, etc.)
In 2023, the global marble market is estimated at over 86 billion USD, with a CAGR forecast of 4.3% over the following 8 years. The world's leading marble exporters are Turkey (30% of total world exports), followed byItaly (22%) and China (21%).
On the European market, the country that produces the most marble and travertine by far isItaly, with 63% of the region's total production. It is followed by Greece (27%) andSpain (4%).Italy is also the leader in cut stone production, with 78% of European output, followed bySpain with 8% and France with 3%.
By 2022, the French marble industry will be experiencing a structural decline in activity. Business has contracted for almost all products over the past 10 years, even though high-value-added items (finished products) made from marble continue to be prized for their quality. However, certain factors and customer markets are progressing serenely in their respective activities, such as the construction and building sectors, the funeral industry and the plastic arts.
Foreign competition is strong. Initially from neighboring Italy and then Spain, new countries such as China, India and Turkey are entering the market with much lower production costs.
Regulations and standards in the sector are numerous, and involve different levels of players: from the European level concerning the physical verification of materials, to the regional level for quarry management schemes.
1.2 Sustained global market growth
The marble market is estimated to exceed ** billion USD by ****, registering a CAGR of around *.*%, over the forecast period (***).
Marble market size World, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****
Global trade:
China is the world's leading customer, with **% of global marble imports by value, while Turkey is the world's leading marble ...
1.3 The European market: the Italian giant
At European level, Italy is an extremely important player ; it is one of the countries that produces the most marble. The Prodcom codes listing the products studied and referred to in the following charts are : ******** Dimension and building stone and articles thereof: marble, travertine, alabaster (***) ******** and ******** Marble and travertine, crude or ...
1.4 French market in decline
Production
Every year, the French ornamental and construction rock industry association (***) publishes figures for the sector two years late. We have therefore summarized the data available in **** in this section, i.e. those for ****.
In ****, *** companies were active in the natural stone sector. Just over a decade later, there are just ...
1.5 Foreign trade
French marble trade balance France, ****-****, in thousands of euros and as a % of sales A COMTRADE
France's coverage rate has remained very stable in recent years (***). Since ****, there has been a recovery in international trade, which had fallen slightly.
france's main trading partners for marble exports France, ****, in thousands of ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 The different uses of marble
In a publication provided by Intracen (***) about the marble market worldwide, we can find different types of uses for this rock:
In the context of the global marble market, this natural rock is used in a variety of industries and applications due to its unique aesthetic and physical characteristics.
Construction : Marble ...
2.2 Construction and buildings
New construction market
In ****, against a backdrop of recovery from the health crisis, spending on housing by all economic agents will pick up sharply (***) to €*** billion.
This increase is mainly due to a rebound in housing investment, while growth in current expenditure is accelerating. Real estate activity, at *** billion euros, returned ...
2.3 Interior design and decoration
By ****, the decoration and furnishings market will be worth almost ** billion euros in France, divided almost equally between furnishings and interior decoration, which will be worth **.** billion and **.* billion euros respectively.[***]. A specific Businesscoot study dedicated to the French furniture market is available here.
The interior decoration sector is divided between ...
2.4 State of the funeral market in France
In France, around ***,*** people die every year. According to PropulsebyCA, the funeral market generated *.* billion euros in ****, and comprises some *,*** SMEs, **% of which have fewer than ** employees. The funeral market in France is essentially made up of national players, with relatively strong local roots.
Number of deaths France, **** - ****, in thousands Source: ...
2.5 Marble, timeless chic and refinement
Although often perceived as cold and sometimes austere, marble has established itself as a major trend in interior design over the last few years. It has evolved into a timeless classic, as highlighted by the specialist magazine Marie Claire Maison. This noble material embodies luxury and refinement, combining sobriety and minimalism, ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Organization of the marble industry
The activities of the marble industry can be summarized as follows:
3.2 Extraction and transportation of marble
The quarrying, transporting, sawing and working of marble has remained virtually unchanged for over two millennia[***]. in part to the generally difficult access conditions to quarries, the impassable roads in the mountains and the sheer volume and mass of the materials involved. Only the use of dynamite really accelerated extraction ...
3.3 Sawing and processing of marble and limestone
Sawing
The blocks of marble thus extracted from the quarries are then sawn into slabs of varying thickness. UNICEM defines one category for slabs less than * cm thick, and another for slabs equal to or greater than * cm. The unit of account at this stage is the square meter. [***]
source: UNICEM ...
3.4 Marble's place among construction rocks
If we compare marble, in particular building marble, with other building stones in the French industrial panorama in ****, we note that it represents only **.*% of the building stone sector. The largest market is that for granite or similar rocks, which accounts for **.*% of the industry.
Source: ****
In ****, the French building stone ...
3.5 Distribution and the trend towards e-commerce
The International Trade Centre' s report on the marble and granite business sectors in **** isolates e-commerce among the trends and growth drivers for these industries.
Major traditional natural stone countries such as Italy and China have found it convenient to open up this new sales channel, selling their tiles, mosaics and ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 The different types of marble
It's virtually impossible to list all the different varieties of marble, as their chromatic nuances and purity vary so widely. As long ago as ****, at the time of France's first Universal Exhibition (***), a catalog of marbles was launched in a Traité de Minéralogie written by Armand Dufrénoy of the ...
4.2 Cost structures
Extraction / Quarries
The costs of a marble quarry can be broken down as follows[***] :
Cost of labor Cost of thermal energy, electricity and water Cost of road, rail and sea transport Cost of equipment, blades, disks, abrasives, etc.
For marble quarrying machines, the studenttrum.nl website gives an overview of prices ...
4.3 Price range
Import/export prices
Using French customs data for ****, this time for the unit values (***) of the various marble products, we note that marble granules are relatively affordable, while dimension stones exceed €*** per ton on the export market.
It is also interesting to note that export prices are generally higher than import ...
5 Regulations
5.1 INSEE and French Customs classifications
*-digit Combined Nomenclature (***)
The website data.gouv.fr states: " This nomenclature used by French customs is common to all European Union (***) member states and is used for :
Customs declarations for trade with EU countries Declarations of trade in goods between EU countries Presenting foreign trade statistics
The CN* is an extension ...
5.2 Quarry legislation
Mines and quarries are legal concepts defined by article L***-* of the French Mining Code. [***]
Firstly, quarries are legally Classified Installations (***). They are therefore subject to the legislation set out in the French Environment Code
In addition to the texts concerning classified installations, a "Quarries" section exists in the Environmental ...
5.3 European technical standards
A highly standardized technical activity
The European Union is increasingly defining specific standards for testing natural stone and marble. [***]
Standard EN **** indicates the mass, in kg, of am* of material. The results provide an indication of the degree of compactness and porosity of a natural stone; Standard EN *** specifies the percentage ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Segmentation
- Provencale
- Société d’Exploitation de Carrières
- SETP (Comblanchien)
- Vinci Groupe
- Bouygues Groupe
- Eiffage Groupe
- Levantina
- Polycor
- Omya
- Heidelberg Cement
- Générale du Granit
- Perocheau
- Techni Marbre
- Real Marbre
- Marbrerie Milesi
- Marbrerie d’Aquitaine
- Marbrerie de la Crau
- Marbrerie Domenech Frères
- Marbrerie Bergez Retegui
- Marbrerie Alfredo Peixeiro
- Marbrerie Anastay
- Décomarbre
- Marbreries de l’Emperador
- PMC Marbreries
- Marbreries de la Seine
- Ikea
List of charts presented in this market study
- Projected marble market size
- Main marble exporting countries
- Main marble importing countries
- Breakdown of marble granules, flakes and powder production by value
- Breakdown of production by value of dimension stone, including marble
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Latest news
Construction: Eiffage breaks the billion euro profit barrier - 29/02/2024
- The company's sales in 2023 were 21.8 billion euros, an increase of 7.4%.
- Group net income (RNPG) increased by 13.1% to reach 1.01 billion euros in 2023.
- Eiffage's Travaux division posted sales of 18.2 billion euros, an increase of 7.1%.
- The Energy Systems division posted growth of almost 12%, with revenues of around 6 billion euros.
- The Concessions Division's revenues rose by over 9% in 2023, reaching 3.65 billion euros.
- Infrastructure Division orders rose by over 6 billion euros to 14.4 billion.
- The Energy Systems Division's order book increased by 21% to 6.5 billion.
- The Construction Division's order book increased by 3% to 5.1 billion.
How Vinci is preparing its exit from French freeways - 08/02/2024
- Vinci is preparing its exit from the French freeway business for around 2035-2036.
- Vinci profit for 2023: 4.7 billion euros, an increase of 10% on 2022.
- Vinci sales for 2023: around €69 billion, an increase of 12%.
- Share of Group EBITDA generated by motorway concessions in France in 2023: 39%, down 20 points on 2006.
- Share of EBITDA generated by Vinci Airports and other concessions in 2023: 26%, up 24 points on 2006.
- Vinci is the world's leading private airport operator, with more than 70 airports in 13 countries.
- Vinci acquired the Spanish company Cobra IS for 4.9 billion euros in 2021.
- Vinci has signed an agreement to acquire a 55% stake in Brazilian concession company Entrevias by the end of 2023
- Vinci Highways operates some 4,000 kilometers of freeways in 15 countries.
- Vinci owns four highway concessions in the United States.
EDF : Eiffage to build Penly EPR reactors - 17/11/2023
- Eiffage has signed a contract with EDF for civil engineering work on the EPR2 nuclear reactors in Penly, worth over 4 billion euros.
- Preparatory work is scheduled to start in mid-2024, subject to obtaining the necessary administrative authorizations.
- The two EPR2 reactors at Penly are the first pair of reactors that the French government plans to launch between now and 2035-37, as part of its program to revive the nuclear industry.
Vinci wins a $2.71 billion contract for the Grand Paris Express project - 13/07/2023
- Contract value won by Vinci: €2.71 billion
- Length of tunnels to be designed and built under the contract: 14 kilometers
- Number of stations to be built: 5 (Saint-Cloud, Rueil-Suresnes Mont-Valérien, Nanterre La Boule, Nanterre La Folie and La Défense)
- Number of rear stations to be built: 1 (Nanterre La Folie)
- Number of service structures to be built: 16.
Hydrogen: Vinci concession strengthens distribution with Hype - 29/01/2023
- Hype has invested in a network of 26 production stations in France Vinci
- Concessions has just invested 15 million euros in Hype's exclusive partner for the construction of new hydrogen production and distribution stations in the Ile-de-France region
- Vinci Concessions participates in the latest round of financing for H2 Mobility, Germany's leading provider of hydrogen recharging stations for road mobility
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the marble market | France
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