A coalition of industry trade associations representing contractors, consultants, and manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada completed a Quarterly Market Index Survey for Reroofing for Q2 of 2023, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) announced.
The survey is an industry-wide effort spearheaded by trade associations, including the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, Canadian Roofing Contractors Association, Chemical Fabrics and Film Association Inc., EPDM Roofing Association, International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants, Metal Construction Association, Metal Roofing Alliance, NRCA, National Women in Roofing, Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association, Roof Coatings Manufacturers Association, and Single Ply Roofing Industry.
The survey results indicate opportunities in the reroofing industry generally improved during Q2 this year when compared with Q2 in 2022. Eighty-one percent of survey responses came from roofing contractors, and 19 percent of responses came from roof consultants. Most respondents (86 percent) indicated they primarily work on low-slope roof systems or a blend of low- and steep-slope roof systems while 14 percent indicated they primarily work on steep-slope roof systems.
A new question asked roofing contractors to report the number of squares of reroofing material installed by their companies during the second quarter of 2023 compared with the same quarter in 2022. Forty-three percent of respondents reported the volume of reroofing materials installed increased, 31 percent reported no change, and 25 percent reported a decrease in materials installed year over year.
Forty-four percent of all survey respondents indicated their customer inquiries increased. Thirty-three percent of respondents reported no change in activity, and 23 percent indicated a decrease. Project contracts increased for 46 percent of respondents, 29 percent reported no change in activity, and 25 percent indicated a decrease in project contracts.
Additionally, two indices offer insight regarding customer inquiries and project contracts across market segments. The indices are based on a zero to 100 scale. A score of 50 or higher suggests expansion or optimism; a score below 50 indicates contraction or pessimism.
The customer inquiries index score for the total industry remained stable at 60.3 compared with 60.5 for Q1. The score for the steep-slope reroofing market is 42.3, a significant decrease from 53.8 for Q1. The score for the low-slope reroofing market is 65.3, and the score for the blended low- and steep-slope reroofing market is 59.8.
The project contracts index score for the total industry decreased to 61 compared with 62.5 for Q1. The score for the steep-slope reroofing market is 50, the score for the low-slope reroofing market is 60.5, and the score for the blended low- and steep-slope reroofing market is 65.9.
As of July, 19 percent of respondents reported no project backlogs, 34 percent indicated project backlogs of one to two months, and 20 percent indicated backlogs of three to four months. Twenty-six percent of respondents reported project backlogs of five or more months.