Responses to Q1 2023 Reroofing Survey Describe Upbeat Outlook

The Market Index Survey for Reroofing is an industry-led initiative that takes the pulse of business activity in the United States and Canada on a quarterly basis. For the quarter ending March 31, 2023, the survey results reversed trends that had continued through the end of 2022 and gave a more optimistic outlook on business activity. 

The survey asks respondents to report year-over-year activity for customer inquiries and project contracts as indicators of future reroofing activity. The survey produces indexes for each question. A score of 50 or higher suggests expansion or optimism, while a value below 50 indicates contraction or pessimism. 

For the steep-slope market, the Q1 2023 Customer Inquiries Index jumped to 53.8 from a reading of 43.8 in the prior quarter. This was the first positive reading for the steep-slope market since the first quarter of 2022. 

For the low-slope market, the Q1 2023 Customer Inquiries Index experienced a more modest increase, rising to 62.5 from a reading of 58.6 in the prior quarter. While sentiment has remained positive in the low-slope market over recent quarters, the first quarter improvement reversed a dip in positive sentiment reported in the fourth quarter of 2022.  

Scores for the Project Contracts Index followed similar trends with the steep-slope market score rising sharply to 60.0 for Q1 2023 versus 43.3 for the prior quarter. The low-slope market score ticked up a few points to 61.7 from a reading of 58.9. The sentiment in the low-slope market remains off its highs reported in early 2022. 

The survey also asks respondents to report the length of project backlogs as an indicator of economic activity. For the steep-slope market as of April 2023, 60 percent of respondents reported a project backlog of one month or longer. Respondents in the low-slope market reported longer project backlogs with 58 percent reporting a backlog of 3 months or more, and only 14 percent reporting no backlog. 

Roofing contractors and consultants doing business in the United States and Canada are eligible to participate in the quarterly survey. For the Q1 2023 survey, 84 percent of respondents were roofing contractors and 16 percent of respondents were roof consultants. Interested parties can sign-up for alerts to patriciate in future surveys at http://eepurl.com/hZH-29. The Q2 2023 survey will open in early July. Survey participants receive access to the full survey results. 

The Market Index Survey for Reroofing is an industry-wide effort spearheaded by a coalition of trade associations, including the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, Canadian Roofing Contractors Association, Chemical Fabrics & Film Association Inc., EPDM Roofing Association, International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants, Metal Roofing Alliance, National Roofing Contractors Association, National Women in Roofing, Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association, Roof Coatings Manufacturers Association and Single Ply Roofing Industry.

About the author: Justin Koscher is the president of the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA). For more information, visit https://www.polyiso.org.