Upgrades to existing product lines, rather than the introduction of new products and materials, are shaping the growth trajectory of the residential roofing industry. Manufacturers are emphasizing products with high wind and impact resistance and high durability, cool roof product options, and products that comply with ever-tougher energy-efficiency requirements.
Impact Resistance and Durability
Product performance is the top priority for homeowners looking to replace their existing roofs, according to Casey Olson, industry analyst for roofing, siding, and trim at market research firm Principia Consulting. Homeowners are replacing their roofs sooner than they have in the past, putting an emphasis on durable, impact-resistant, weather-resistant products. Roofing with increased wind resistance was a “high-end premium product feature” in the recent past, according to David Ellis, vice president of residential marketing at GAF, but today’s climate and the frequency of storms is making wind resistance a near necessity for roofing products.
CertainTeed’s NorthGate SBS-modified asphalt shingle resists cracking, even in extreme cold-weather.
Consumers shopping for products suitable for “forever homes” will likely continue to favor impact-resistant and SBS-modified asphalt products, metal products, and cool roofing products that offer significant energy savings, according to Alex Pecora, director of roofing product management for CertainTeed.
“As the demands of climate, consumers and regulators evolve, the roofing industry must respond with innovation,” says Jack Gottesman, marketing and sales development manager at IKO Industries. “These changes have driven a shift toward performance products that look as good as they perform, providing homeowners with the protection they need, alongside the design and quality they deserve.”
Updating Asphalt
To better compete with metal roofing products, manufacturers of asphalt roofing products are focusing on making their products more durable and longer lasting, according to Olson.
Styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) modifications to asphalt products is one way that manufacturers are improving the durability of asphalt shingles to better compete with metal. SBS-modified, or polymer-modified, asphalt shingles are more flexible in cold weather and better equipped to handle thermal change than standard asphalt shingles, which are susceptible to cracks in such conditions. SBS-modified shingles also offer better impact resistance because the product is “bouncier” than standard asphalt shingles or non-modified shingles. SBS-modified products also impress roofing contractors because they are easy to cut and handle, says Pecora.
“Homeowners re-roofing their homes are turning to stronger asphalt materials—such as SBS-modified asphalt shingles with high levels of impact and crack resistance—particularly in areas of the country with dramatic freeze-thaw cycles,” Pecora says.
Atlas Roofing recently relaunched its StormMaster products under a new polymer, moving beyond SBS-modified asphalt into proprietary Core4 Enhanced Polymer Technology. The StormMaster Shake shingle now has a warranty on winds up to 150 miles per hour. Atlas also touts the StormMaster Shake shingle’s performance in heating and cooling cycles.
Atlas Roofing’s StormMaster Shake shingles offer high wind and impact resistance.
Cool roofing products, materials that are light in color, use reflective paint, have sheet coverings, or reflective tiles or shingles, will be increasingly popular in states in the southern half of the United States. CertainTeed is applying cool roof technology to many of its asphalt products in its Solaris product line. The manufacturer now offers cool roof colors in its luxury and designer shingle lines. IKO’s Cambridge Cool Colors line was designed to exceed California’s Title 24 minimum reflective standard, reducing a home’s carbon footprint and energy costs.
“Durability and energy savings seem to be driving the market right now,” Pecora says. “Since people are moving less, they are willing to invest in stronger, longer-lasting roofing products.”
More-stringent building codes and insurance policies that require the use of storm-resistant products will likely continue to place a high demand on storm-resistant roofing. Products that are resistant to wind, impact, UV rays, extreme temperatures, and prolonged moisture are continuing to appeal to homeowners looking to invest in their roofs for the long-term.
The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), funded by several major insurance carriers to research product performance, released a study highlighting that many asphalt shingles with the same UL 2218 Class 4 impact ratings were not performing at the same levels.
“[The IBHS] released those results [last] year and as the information was starting to come out, we also saw certain manufacturers coming out with new forms of impact shingles that had modified asphalt in them,” says Stan Bastek, national sales director at Atlas Roofing. “We see modified asphalt shingles continuing to grow because of the demand for higher-quality products.”
Metal Roofing’s Rise
Metal roofing is not a new product in the residential roofing marketplace, but it has seen its market share grow steadily over the past decade, largely at the expense of asphalt. Standing-seam metal roofing accounts for the largest share of the material market because of design flexibility and superior leak resistance. Metal shingles, shakes, and tiles are projected to see rapidly increasing demand in the coming years as homeowners seek durable alternatives to traditional materials, according to Cleveland-based research firm The Freedonia Group.
The material is far more expensive than asphalt—the initial installation cost can be between two or three times greater—but metal is still gaining market relevance because of its durability. Metal also has appeal for homeowners with green living in mind, as it is easily recyclable. Metal manufacturers have also created more aesthetically pleasing products to compete with other materials in the market.
“Metal roofing is a growing trend, particularly architectural metal profiles that replicate the appearance of traditional roofing styles such as wood shake and tile because they possess more character than standing seam or galvanized metal roofing,” Pecora says.
CertainTeed expanded its Matterhorn metal roofing line into the Canadian market, offering the material’s impact resistance and cool-roofing features to the harsh winters and hot summers of the Canadian climate. TAMKO’s MetalWorks steel shingles provide the “beauty quotient” homeowners often look for that hasn’t previously been available in the metal market, according to the manufacturer.
Metal products also offer strong impact-resistance and low maintenance, factors that can cause homeowners to look past the material’s steep upfront installation costs. Metal products typically have a life span of 50 years or greater, which means the product makes sense for the increasing number of homeowners looking to stay in their homes longer.
“We’ve seen a decrease in concern about the lowest cost,” Olson says. “People are not as cost-driven about their roofing decisions as they used to be. Which bodes well for the more expensive materials.”
Principia recently conducted a poll of roughly 4,800 homeowners, looking at the roofing materials used, based on home style and location. The study found that rural environments, typically areas with smaller homes and lower household incomes, had a high tendency to use metal roofing products on reroofing projects because rural residents tend to stay in their homes far longer than urban or suburban homeowners.
The Freedonia Group projects metal roofing demand will grow annually by 2.5% or more over the next four years, slightly above-average growth relative to the overall market and other roofing materials. The firm projects contractors in areas subjected to high winds and hail storms will continue to specify metal roofing because of its durability and resistance to uplift.
Not Quite Solar’s Year
At a Tesla product launch in March 2019, CEO Elon Musk proclaimed 2019 would be the year of the solar roof. However, despite building code changes—such as laws passed in California, where new construction homes will be required to have solar roofs beginning in 2020—this prophecy has been thus far unfulfilled.
“Solar panels are going to be a long-term thing,” Bastek says. “It’s just that there are manufacturers out there hard at work trying to figure out how to make it more affordable, and to work with utility companies to make this something that can be viable.”
CertainTeed and GAF have recently launched low-profile integrated solar roofing system and Telsa solar shingles are also low profile, a hybrid between rack-mounted solar and fully integrated shingles. Consumers are also becoming hyper aware of their carbon footprint, a trend making them more likely to choose energy-efficient features, according to Pecora.
The price of manufacturing has steadily decreased over time, but not to the point where it makes financial sense for a majority of homeowners. “[Solar’s] time is coming,” Olson says. “People are starting to do more feasibility studies and as you find more subsidies and rebates, that point is coming. It’s not 2019, I don’t know about 2020, but it’s [time is] coming.”
Market Size and Potential
While the majority of roofing companies look healthy, demand for roofing products is slowing relative to growth in the past five years. The Freedonia Group and Principia Consulting both assert that overall roofing demand will grow around 2% annually in the next three to four years.
While the volume of demand is projected to remain relatively flat, the overall roofing market will remain healthy because of rising material prices, according to Olson. Almost all raw material price inputs into roofing are up significantly, he says. Consumer confidence is still fairly resilient and although consumers are not tracking material price growth year-over-year, high material prices will begin to temper demand in time.
“Going into 2020, the skilled labor shortage will continue to drive up labor costs, creating a real challenge for contractors and builders as they may have to pass those additional costs on to consumers, affecting the affordability of re-roofing especially,”
says Alex Hines, assistant vice president of sales and marketing
at TAMKO Building Products.
The residential market will continue to fuel the growth in the roofing sector, especially as homeowners are electing to stay in their homes rather than move. However, Bastek says 2020 will be a year of uncertainty in the roofing market, depending on whether or not homeowners continue to spend highly on remodeling projects.
