Most price pages you will find online quote a single number with no context. Sintered stone does not work that way: a 6 mm 1200×2700 slab and a 15 mm 1600×3200 slab are different products with different cost structures. Here is how the number is actually built, from a factory that ships containers every week.
The short answer: price bands by size and thickness
| Format | Thickness | FOB Foshan (USD/m²) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1200×2400 mm | 9 mm | 18 – 26 | Wall cladding, shower walls, cabinet fronts |
| 1200×2700 mm | 9 mm | 22 – 30 | Floor-to-ceiling walls, kitchen backsplash |
| 1200×2700 mm | 12 mm | 26 – 36 | Countertops, islands, table tops |
| 1600×3200 mm | 12 mm | 32 – 45 | Bookmatched feature walls, large islands |
| 1600×3200 mm | 15 mm | 40 – 55 | Heavy-duty counters, commercial kitchens |
These are factory-direct export bands for orders of one pallet and up. Retail showroom pricing in the US, EU or Australia is typically 3–5× the FOB figure once freight, duty, distribution and margin are added.
What actually moves the price
1. Firing cost, not raw material
The body of a sintered slab is inexpensive. What you pay for is the 1200°C+ firing cycle and the yield of the kiln. Thicker slabs need longer cycles and more kiln space per square metre, which is why 15 mm costs roughly double 9 mm — not 1.7× as the thickness ratio would suggest.
2. Print design and surface treatment
A basic marble-look design with a matt finish is the baseline. Add a full-polish super-glossy surface, a bookmatched A/B pair, or a high-detail veined design and expect 10–25% on top. Bookmatched pairs are always sold as pairs — you cannot buy one half.
3. Order volume and pallet efficiency
A 20ft container holds roughly 700–900 m² of 9 mm 1200×2700. Fill a container and per-square-metre freight drops sharply. Buy six slabs and you are paying LCL rates plus handling, which can add 15–30% to the landed number.
4. Cut-to-size and fabrication
Raw slabs are one price. Factory cut-to-size (sink cut-outs, mitred edges, drilled holes) adds per-piece labour. For projects, it is usually cheaper to fabricate locally than to pay for cut-to-size plus protective crating, unless your local fabricator cannot handle sintered material.
5. Certification and documentation
CE, ISO 9001, SGS test reports and country-specific compliance (AS/NZS for Australia, ASTM for the US) cost money to maintain but are what let your project pass inspection. A supplier who cannot produce them is not cheaper — they are a liability.
Sample maths: a 40 m² kitchen
A typical kitchen with a 3.6 m island, perimeter counters and a backsplash runs about 40 m² of finished surface, with roughly 20% cutting waste. You need around 48 m² of slab.
- 12 mm 1200×2700: 15 slabs (3.24 m² each) at USD 30/m² = USD 1,440 FOB
- Freight to US East Coast, LCL: USD 450–700
- Duty (varies by HS code and country): check your tariff line
- Local fabrication and install: usually 40–60% of the total project cost
For a full container of the same material the FOB price per square metre typically falls 10–15%.
How to get a real number instead of a range
Send four things and any factory can quote precisely within 24 hours: total square metres needed, sizes and thickness, chosen designs, and destination port. Without those four, every quote you receive is a placeholder.
MENGNA SURFACES quotes without a minimum order quantity and ships physical samples within 48 hours so you can verify colour and surface before committing to a container.