Building Envelope in North America

Building Envelope in North America

Demand for building envelope products in North America is forecast to decline at an annual average rate of 2.1% to US$92.8 billion in 2027. This represents a major reversal from the rapid growth of the 2017-2022 period, due in part to surging prices in 2021 and 2022. Going forward, prices are expected to moderate significantly from their peak in 2022, although they will remain above pre-pandemic levels.

While market value will decline significantly in the near term as prices moderate, growth in real terms will resume later in the forecast period due to expected rebounds in commercial building construction and housing starts in the large US market.

Rebounding US Commercial Building Construction Will Bolster Demand for Some Products

Commercial building construction in the US is expected to rebound following three straight years of declines, a result of the pandemic’s detrimental effect on in-office work, travel, entertainment, and in-person shopping. As most of the population returns to pre-pandemic behaviors, building owners are expected to engage in renovations that had been delayed during the previous years, while greater investment in new commercial buildings such as hotels will also occur. This growth will in turn boost demand for products used primarily in the commercial building market. For instance, exterior wall water-resistant barriers (WRBs) will be the only air and water barrier product forecast to experience demand growth due to the frequent use of fluid-applied barriers for commercial buildings, where high performance, continuous seals are important.

Regional Building Codes Will Lead to Rapid Adoption of Solar Roofing

While the outlook for most major roofing materials will be hampered by the high levels of reroofing activity that occurred in 2020 and 2021 (the result of both high levels of storm activity in those years and the pandemic-related surge in home renovations) some small volume roofing products will experience healthy gains as they are increasingly adopted by homeowners and building owners. The most notable of these products is solar roofing, demand for which is anticipated to rise at a fast rate. Demand will be driven by current and future adoption of “green” building codes in various parts of the region.

California’s CALGreen building code, for instance, is the first statewide “green” building code in the US, and more states are expected to follow suit in the future. California’s adoption of the building codes requires nearly all newly built and substantially renovated structures to meet zero net energy criteria (meaning that a building must generate as much energy as it uses). Installing solar roofing can allow home or building owners the ability to generate enough electricity to satisfy the structure’s energy consumption.

Study Description

This Freedonia study analyzes the North American (US & Canada) building envelope industry. It presents historical demand data (2012, 2017 and 2022) and forecasts (2027 and 2032) by country (US, Canada), product (windows & exterior doors, roofing, siding, insulation, air & water barriers – including flashing, roof underlayment, exterior wall water-resistive barriers and air barriers, and below-grade waterproofing), market (residential, commercial), and by various product materials. Demand for all products is measured in US$ value terms and in unit terms (except air & water barriers). The study also evaluates factors that will influence building envelope demand in North America and profiles key industry participants, such as Carlisle Companies, Owens Corning, and CertainTeed.