Worldwide demand for roofing materials is forecast to rise 2.7 percent per annum through 2008 to nearly 7 billion square meters, with a value of almost US$48 billion.

Worldwide demand for roofing materials is forecast to rise 2.7 percent per annum through 2008 to nearly 7 billion square meters, with a value of almost US$48 billion. Gains will be supported by an upswing in residential and nonresidential building construction in the developing countries of Asia and Eastern Europe. Demand for roofing in China is forecast to advance 6.2 percent annually through 2008. Rising incomes in other developing countries in Asia, such as Malaysia and Thailand, will bolster residential applications of roofing materials in conjunction with the construction of new housing. Eastern Europe is also expected to enjoy growth in demand for roofing materials in excess of the global average.

These and other trends are presented in World Roofing, a new study from The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based industrial market research firm. In contrast to developing regions, growth in demand for roofing in industrialized countries will be much more muted, with expansion projected at less than 2 percent annually through 2008. The maturity of the building infrastructure in many of these countries means that reroofing accounts for a higher share of demand. In the country with the largest single roofing market, the United States, a rebound in nonresidential construction activity from the doldrums of the early 2000s will aid demand for roofing, but it will be offset somewhat by a slowing in construction of single-family housing from an elevated pace that was boosted by low mortgage interest rates.

Bituminous roofing constituted the largest product segment in 2003, bolstered by the prominence of the material in the large North American market. Bituminous shingles dominate in U.S. and Canadian steep-slope applications, and these two countries account for more than three-quarters of worldwide demand for the product.

Tile roofing was the second largest product segment in 2003, with clay tiles and concrete tiles each with demand in excess of 600 million square meters. Growth will accelerate from that of the 1998-2003 period, fueled by increased building construction activity in developing countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Africa/Middle East region. Gains in Western Europe, the second largest regional market for tile roofing after the Asia/Pacific region, will be below the world average, but will reverse the trend from 1998 to 2003, when sluggish residential construction activity contributed to a slight decline in demand for tile roofing.

World Roofing (published August 2004, 374 pages) is available for $5,100 from The Freedonia Group Inc., 767 Beta Drive, Cleveland, OH 44143 -2326. For further details, please contact Corinne Gangloff at 440-684-9600 or

pr@freedoniagroup.com.