Roofing Supplies Shortage Continues: Prices Expected to Rise Through 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every area of our lives and almost every industry. The roofing industry is no exception. Shutdowns in early 2020 caused severe inventory shortages for roofing supplies manufacturers.

Couple that with a record-breaking storm season, and you have market conditions that the U.S. roofing industry has never been seen before.

Production shortfalls of roof shingles are expected to continue for most of 2021. In fact, SRS Distribution, one of the fastest growing building products distribution companies in the U.S., recently sent roofing contractors the following message:

“…ongoing production shortfalls are projected to continue thru the 3rd or 4th quarter 2021. This situation has prompted manufacturers to announce a New Construction/Multifamily price increase on January 1st, followed by a Residential/Reroof price increase on February 1st. Expectations are that 3 to 4 more price increases will follow in 2021.”

How Does This Affect Homeowners?

Cost

If you believe your roof might need replacing, contact your roofer now. Prices have already risen and may not come back to their pre-COVID levels even after roofing supplies catch up with demand.

The first round of price increases will take effect January 1st and most manufactures have already announced that they will raise prices again on February 1st by another 4 to 7 percent.

Your cost for shingles is based on when they’re delivered — not on when you ordered them. So the longer you wait, the more likely you’ll run into the next price increase.

Timeline

The shortages also affect installation timelines. You may have to wait longer than normal to get your roof materials delivered for your project.

In some cases, it can take 6 to 8 weeks for manufactures to fulfill orders. Your roofer can help you navigate those delays, but they don’t have any control over when prices will change.

Color Choices

Manufacturers are spending the majority of their production time on colors that are more common like weathered-woods and black shingles.

Lower volume colors and special order colors are going to be harder to get until manufacturers can recover from the current roofing material shortages.

Tip: Colors may be easier to get than brands in certain markets. In other words, if color is more important to you than a particular brand of shingles, ask your roofer to show you what colors other comparable brands may have available.

What Now?

If you think your roof needs to be replaced or repaired, contact a good full-service roofer. Schedule a roof inspection and get an assessment of your roof as soon as possible.

Full-service roofers can even help you decide if you should submit an insurance claim for your roof replacement.

Plan Ahead

2020 brought historic changes to life as we know it. 2021 will continue to bring changes as we get a little closer to finding our new normal.

Knowing that some of those changes include rising prices for the roofing industry can help you plan ahead.

Make sure your home and family are protected and save both time and money by getting your roof inspected as soon as possible.