Roofing is an integral part of the building as the roof is the uppermost part of the building, which provides a structural covering to protect the building from weather. The structure of the roof depends upon the type of building. Roofing material is a type of hard material that has several properties due to which it is used in the manufacturing of roofs. Many of the traditional roof styles are metal roofs, elastomers & plastic roofs, tile roofs, concrete & clay tile roofs, among others.
Several researchers have worked on the evolution of roofing products in the 1800’s as a by-product of making tar, and asphalt-impregnated felts for flat roofs. Such roofs were invented from the 1940’s to the late 1970’s as asphalt shingles products were comprised of organic cellulose fibers derived from recycled waste paper and wood fiber. Asphalt products are increasing in the current scenario as this material provides several properties such as strength and waterproofing, increasing its demand in the market. The demand for roofing has always been high from residential applications.
In a building, the roof's design plays an important role as the roof should be strong enough to face the dynamic changes and other earthquakes, fire, snowstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes, which can result in damage to residential or commercial building. Different types of roofing are in the market, which can be applied according to the different regions' environmental conditions.
With the proper roofing system, the problem of structure can be solved. The installation of the high-quality roofing material is less costly and has more advantages as roofing material is installed for long terms. The roof structure can be made from metal, wood, and other material. For making the roof waterproof, as the asphalt material is used, it does not allow the water to enter into the roofing composition. The asphalt material and products are more in demand in the roofing market as products are low-cost and have more advantages over other roofing materials.
The roofing products are being used in several applications due to which products have to undergo dynamic temperatures and high UV rays. The roofing material used for residential purposes covers all the roof space and gives protection and strength to the building from hailstorms and UV rays, which increases the building's life.
In the roofing market, several types of products are available and used by different end-users in different applications. High-quality roofing is used for industrial purposes for sound reduction and sound absorption. Some roofing products are:
Impact of Covid-19 On Roofing Market
Covid-19 has adversely affected the demand for the roofing market in the construction sector. With the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the demand for construction products has declined, but on the other hand, the demand for daily use products and essential goods increases. Several companies engaged in roofing manufacturing have faced several challenges towards the sale of roofing material products.
Several consumers upgrade their residences to make them more functional by adding (home) office spaces and gyms. However, the demand for renovation has declined, which lowers the demand for roofing products. The government has done shutdowns in construction industries, leading to lower demand for roofing in the global market. COVID-19 has downgraded the demand in the construction sector, leading to low manufacturing of roofing products resulting in stagger growth of the manufactures in coming years.
For instance,
• National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) shows that the majority (52%) of roofing contractors said the coronavirus-fueled economic shutdown has already had a significant effect on their businesses.
After a bleak of 2019, roofing production witnessed a decline due to the construction industry's low demand. The impact of COVID-19 was seen in January when several manufacturers in the U.S. faced a business problem due to a shortage of raw material imported from other countries. As during the COVID-19, the demand for the construction material has declined, due to which the production of the roofing products has reduced.
Roofing has importance in the construction industry. However, due to increasing COVID-19 effects globally, the construction and real estate industry's growth has declined, and the manufactures of the roofing products are unable to clear up the stock.
The impact of the virus on Chinese production has been devastating for global roofing markets and construction supply chains. The roofing industry's most drastic effects have been on the manufacture and supply of solar roofing systems, with production grinding to a halt in mainland China's most affected areas, where 60%-70% of the world’s solar roofing panels are manufactured. Solar roofing materials are likely to witness a decline in production due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, and production of aluminum, plastic, slate, timber, and rubber roofing products have all declined worldwide. The roofing market has to face several challenges during the COVID-19, which include a lack of workforce and transportation stoppages plaguing much of the Asia-Pacific region.
With the increasing impact of COVID-19, the shortage of skilled workers can also be felt due to which construction of the roofing cannot be done, which has affected the global roofing market. During the pandemic, the government and other trade associations are trying to maintain the demand level and thus have taken various steps that make equilibrium in the demand and supply of the roofing in the market.
COVID-19 has brought prolonged disruptions and uncertainty in the construction industry, which has put the sector under pressure and resulted in the sector's slow growth and standstill. Manufactures of the building and construction material will not be able to invest money in the business due to the lower demand in the future, making it difficult to demand furcating. With increasing government regulations for the countries' lockdown, the closure of the government undertakings, colleges, schools, hospitals, and several other government undertakings due to the demand for infrastructure development did not arise, leading to lower demand construction activities by the government.
Large projects are running delay due to the lower availability of workforce in the countries due to which manufactures have to face cost escalation and heavy penalties in further project delays. The workforce in the construction industry has a voluntary step back to construction to stop the increasing spread of Coronavirus. With the slowdown in commercial construction, the demand for roofing products has declined.
The spread of Coronavirus, which was originated in China, has started impacting ongoing construction projects. With the increasing number of COVID cases in the different countries, engineers and workers are not reporting at the construction sites. But, in the construction industry, more workforces are essential to complete the construction project in a given time. COVID-19 has resulted in a halt in the construction industry as due to the lockdown, most of the construction sites are running at half of our usual working run rate due to the increasing fear about the coronavirus infection in engineers and workers, which resulted in attendance at less than 70%.
The construction industry has resulted in massive layoffs as, due to huge loss, most of the projects handled by private companies will take time to complete. Most projects in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington states of the U.S. have come to a halt due to increasing coronavirus cases in the countries. At the local level, work stoppage directives have been mixed.
For instance,
Fluctuation in the raw materials price will affect the production cost of the roofing products. The change in the production cost will change the revenue for the manufacturers. Modified bitumen and metal material are more used in the roofing sheet production, which are used on the outer layer of the building roof surface.
The raw material is available in different quality and at a different rate due to which production of the roofing sheets of different length is very difficult for the manufacturers. Highly fluctuating raw materials costs and ineffective price management can greatly endanger manufacture in the market during COVID-19. Due to the fluctuation in the raw material prices, manufacturers cannot fix the product cost, which further resulted in a loss to manufactures.
FIGURE 1 BITUMEN OR ASPHALT PRICE FROM (NOVEMBER 2019 – APRIL 2020) (CNY/T)
From the above diagram, we can infer the fluctuation in the bitumen or asphalt price, which is highly used as the raw material in the production of asphalt shingles that are used as the roofing product in commercial and residential construction.
With the increasing spread of the COVID-19 in the country, the import and export of the raw material have become difficult due to which the fluctuation in the prices of raw material can be seen, which affects the manufacturing growth.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 crisis has created a pandemic situation widely, which affected construction activities worldwide. The government imposed lockdown rules for all the construction activity and sites, leading to a halt of the roofing product's demand, resulting in manufacturers the massive loss of profit and will show steady growth in the coming years. Most of the skilled roofing laborers already headed to their homes or villages and they are not willing to return and resume their construction work again, which causes the shortage of skilled laborers in urban areas due to which large projects are running out of time which lowers the demand for roofing products during COVID-19. The decline in renovation in the developing nation has affected roofing to a larger extent during COVID-19.
The halt's impact on work has increased the direct bearing of losses on the company revenue, jobs, and project delays. The government has also taken many steps to uplift the roofing industry as many funds have been opened for the workers and the manufacturers, which will increase the demand for roofing products in the construction industry. The government has also initiated construction projects, which will increase the employment generation in all the regions. The increase in government initiatives and increased workforce in the industry will help increase market growth in the future.