WASHINGTON D.C. — The latest report from the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) show drops in shingle shipments in North America when compared to the same time period a year ago.

The quarterly report summarizes asphalt roofing product shipments of shingles, BUR and modified bitumen. The most recent report covers shipments in the United States and Canada in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 and how it compares to Q1 2019.

In the U.S., shingle shipments dropped by nearly 9% from 37 million to 34 million squares. In Canada, it dropped by 10.2% from 4.1 million to 3.7 squares (see graph below).

Modified bitumen shipments in the U.S. decreased as well, dropping from 7.6 million to 7.2 million squares (a 5.3% decrease).

The only increase the ARMA report shows is in BUR in the U.S., which experienced a 6.8% increase from 1.6 million to 1.7 million squares.

Despite these drops, they are more favorable to the previous year’s Q1 report. In 2019, the change from Q1 2018 to 2019 showed decreases in every product. Most notably, BUR decreased by 22.6%, whereas Q1 2019 and Q1 2020 saw an increase.

“ARMA members and others interested in the industry value ARMA’s shipment report for the relevant, important insights it provides into the asphalt roofing industry,” said ARMA Executive Vice President Reed Hitchcock.

Roofing product shipment data is collected from participating manufacturers by an independent third party, Association Research Inc., and aggregated to create the report. ARMA doesn’t provide insight into any trends reflected in the report.