How to use the Flows tool

The tool shows the structure of the natural stone exports of each of the 15 major exporters: where it sells, how much each destination weighs and what changed against the same months of the previous year. Use it to know a competitor's market portfolio, see which markets it depends on and spot early the destinations that are gaining importance.

Questions it answers:

• Where does a country sell its stone — and how much does it depend on its three largest markets?
• Which markets gained weight this year and which lost it?
• Is the structure the same for raw marble and for worked products?

1. 1DirectionExports (where one of the 15 countries with a monthly bulletin sells) or imports (where one of the major importers buys). For imports the diagram turns round: origins on the left, the country on the right, and you choose the year (full years, against the previous one).
2. 2ExporterOne of the 15 countries with a monthly bulletin. By default, the largest exporter with data for the latest year. In brackets, each country's period.
3. 3ProductAll natural stone, raw or worked stone only, one stone type (for instance raw marble) or a 6-digit HS code.
4. 4Destinations in the diagramThe 5, 10 or 15 largest destinations; the rest are grouped as «Others».
5. 5Highlight a destination (optional)Highlights one market in the diagram and the lists, gives its share and position, and links to Price by destination and the Opportunity finder.
6. 6The result updates by itselfChange a selector and the result changes at once — there is no button. The page address keeps your choices: bookmark it or share it with your team.
7. 7Export to PDFThe «Export PDF» button, under the selectors, downloads the result on screen as a KEYSTONE. report: your choices, the diagram, the tables and the reading notes. Every page carries your name and licence id. Included in the Data and Professional plans.

1. 1The diagramThe exporter on the left; its destinations on the right. Each flow is as wide as that destination's share of the country's exports. Green: the destination gained weight; red: it lost weight; grey: stable (under 0.5 pp).
2. 2What changedThe destinations that gained or lost the most weight, in percentage points. Only destinations with at least 0.5% of exports in one of the two periods.
3. 3ChangeThe difference in share in percentage points (pp): from 27.5% to 32.0% is +4.5 pp.
4. 4PositionThe destination's place among the exporter's markets, last year and now. «New» when it bought nothing last year.

A company follows Exporter A, a direct competitor.

• Market X takes 32.0% of Exporter A's exports, 4.5 pp more than the year before: the destination growing most in weight.
• Market Y is still 2nd, but fell to 18.5% (−3.2 pp).
• Market W rose from 6th to 4th (8.5%, +2.1 pp): a market to watch.
• The three largest destinations make up 62.5%; all the others together 29.0% (−3.7 pp): Exporter A is concentrating on fewer markets.

Use Flows to see where a competitor is betting. Then highlight the market and open Price by destination, to see at what price it sells there, or the Opportunity finder.

• Share, not value. A destination can grow in value and lose weight if the others grow faster.
• Declared by the exporter. The figures are what the exporting country declares; the destination may record different values (especially within the EU).
• Year to date. With few months, a single large order can move a destination's share a lot.
• Different periods. Some countries have older data (shown in the selector and in a notice): do not compare structures of different years as if they were the same period.

Why don't I see values in euros or dollars?

The tool shows the structure: shares and changes. Values and tonnes are in each country's monthly bulletin.

Who can see the diagram?

Subscribers to the Data and Professional plans. Without a plan, the tool shows the selectors and the markets the country exports to, in alphabetical order, with no figures.

When is the data updated?

Automatically, whenever a country's monthly bulletin is updated.

Are there import flows?

Yes: choose «Imports» in the Direction selector. They show where each of the major importers buys, in full years, as the importer reports to UN Comtrade — so they may differ from the exports the origin declares.