Crushed stone: Criticality

Abundant and home-grown: the least critical mineral

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	High	–	10.7%	1.8%	−$308.9 m	No	Produced 1.5 Gt in 2025 with 1% net import reliance; imports from Canada (42%), Mexico (23%), the Bahamas and Honduras (USGS).
EU	High	–	50.2%	49.3%	−$368.9 m	No	Limestone and aggregates are not critical (supply risk 0.3 and 0.2); Germany, Belgium and France are net exporters of stone (EU CRM 2023; Comtrade).
India	Low	–	0.5%	2.8%	+$58.6 m	No	Self-sufficient in stone from many small quarries; a major dimension-stone exporter (16% of US dimension stone imports by value, 2021-24, USGS).
China	Low	–	0.0%	9.5%	+$253.1 m	No	A large producer with no published total; China had 9.5% of world crushed-stone export value in 2024 (Comtrade).
Japan	Low	–	0.0%	0.0%	+$0	No	No production data published by USGS.
Latin America	Low	–	1.5%	5.3%	+$90.8 m	no list	Mexico and Honduras ship crushed stone to the US (23% and 15% of US imports, 2021-24, USGS).
Middle East	High	–	9.3%	2.3%	−$249.5 m	no list	Kuwait is among the leading importers of crushed stone (4.7% of world import value, 2024, Comtrade).
Australia	Low	–	0.0%	0.0%	+$0	No	No production data published by USGS.

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: n/a. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Crushed stone is not critical. The EU assesses limestone at supply risk 0.3 and economic importance 3.6, with no import reliance, and it is on neither the US nor the Indian list. US net import reliance is about 1%. Substitutes include sand and gravel, iron and steel slag, expanded clay and shale, and recycled asphalt and concrete, though recycling still supplies a small share. The risk is local and political: permits, zoning and transport costs decide whether a city has affordable aggregate.

EU 2023 Not critical US 2025 list No India 2023 list No

EU 2023 assessment

Chart: EU 2023 criticality: supply risk against economic importance

Each dot is a material assessed by the EU in 2023. The shaded corner is the critical zone (supply risk ≥ 1.0, economic importance ≥ 2.8). Crushed stone: supply risk 0.3, economic importance 3.6. EU import reliance, extraction 0% EU recycling input rate 1% US net import reliance, 2025 1% share of apparent consumption

Substitutes

Sand and gravel, iron and steel slag, sintered or expanded clay or shale, perlite, vermiculite, and recycled asphalt and concrete