Coronavirus Affecting Stone Industry

COVID-19 means CoronaVirus is sucking the natural stone and its relevant industries by affecting bottom lines. The dreaded impacts come through worldwide lockdown. The major players, including miners, manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and contractors, are estimating the loss of billion dollars in sum. The drastic impacts are on the lives of millions involved or depending on the stone industry. The World of Stones USA is a leading stone supplier. Now, it is going to share some insights on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the entire stone industry from top to bottom & how to combat it.

Drastic Impacts of Corona Virus Endemic on Natural Stone Industry

Construction Projects on Halt

In the present COVI-19 endemic scenario, almost all residential and commercial construction activities are on halt due to safety concerns among the workers and the availability of raw materials in upstream supply chain issues.

Natural Stone Production Stopped

In the USA and elsewhere, stone quarries and processing units have stopped production as breakdowns have broken transportation and supply chains. Whatever projects are running in the road and other sectors of the construction industry have slowed down their activities. It means a complete lack of demand in stone aggregates, dimension stones, and relevant mining products.

Export-Import (EXIM) Frozen

Export & imports of natural stones in the USA and across the globe is facing loading and unloading problems due to a shortage of skilled and unskilled labor during a pandemic.

Safety First for Stone Industry

Miners, transporters, and contractors have to follow the safety rules issued by the government bodies and WHO like worldwide organizations. Stone offices and showrooms have down their shutters due to Corona’s panic.

The Worst Affected Stone Industry

Stonemasons and daily wagers in the construction industry are the worst affected components of the stone and construction industries. In sum, overall impacts are negative on the economy of the entire stone industry.

How to Combat COVID-19? Some Good Tips for Stone Industry

Some recent surveys on various aspects of the Corona Virus epidemic and its effects on the stone industry revealed many useful insights.

Stone Industry Should Prioritize Health & Safety of Employees in COVID-19

If your stone quarries, supply network, or companies are belonging to affected regions should look after the health and safety aspects of the workforce from top to bottom levels.

The working employees must have training in various aspects of good hygiene. For example,
- How to wash hands properly.
- They must learn how to cover the exposed body parts and hands with gloves & face masks to save from further contamination.
- They should know how to cover the entire body to minimize direct touchpoints.
- They must know how to use sanitizing solutions in scientific ways.
The employees must equip with essential tools, chemicals, and medicines by the company in cooperation with local health units and government recognized bodies.
Companies should help in spreading awareness and facts to minimize the psychological impacts on workers and their families. Anxieties and panics are worst things than the virus contamination itself.
The construction industry must facilitate its workforce to stay at homes in quarantined areas and live a happy and healthy life despite severe confinement.

Stone Industry Should Face Inadequate Workforce Issues

In the stone and relevant construction sectors, specialty contractors and sub-contractors are inevitable components. For instance, mechanical and electrical contractors can disrupt the project due to their absence during the Corona pandemic.

Similarly, sub-contractors like outdoor or landscaping contractors also are facing a shortage of labor force. They can lead to the halt of the entire project during lockdowns.

Stone Industry Should Face Inadequate or Lack of Material Supply Issues

Due to lockdowns and quarantine programs during the Corona epidemic stone industry faces shut down of factories and missing supply of essential construction materials like cement, steel, sand, and stone aggregates. It ultimately leads to an abrupt rise in the cost of materials and a complete absence of material like issues in the construction and dimension stone industry.

Stone Industry Can Face Finance Related Issues

Many quarries have slowed down the production and shred off the spared workforce to minimize the potential financial crunches. Various stone offices and showrooms, which are located in safe zones though remained open but in the non-functional state due to lack of customers. Those units of the construction industry have to pay permanent workers without any productive activity at all. Such additional financial burdens are out of planning. They can impact the bottom lines of many companies if lockdown is extending in uncertainty.

Final Words from World of Stones USA

Amidst the Corona Virus panics, World of Stones USA and similar stone industry leaders appeal the various sectors and subsectors of the stone industry to keep restraints and patience to beat such unexpected situations prevailing in the present days. It is a time of giving, not drawing from society.

Take care of your employees, contractors, and people at your bottom-level. The return would work great in terms of satisfaction and royalty in the long-term.