Worsening weather disruptions drive increasing Galvalume adoption in roofing industry

Conference attendees at FRSA’s 102nd Annual Convention and the Florida Roofing Sheet Metal Expo, that took place in Kissimmee, Florida on June 6-7, noted that climate-change related disruptive weather phenomenon were leading to end users seeking out metal roofs over other roofing material like tiles and shingles.

“Metal roof demand is growing, and has been growing steadily after Hurricane Ian,” a metal roof manufacturer said, referring to the devastating hurricane that tore through several towns and cities in coastal Florida in 2022. 

“When the hurricane hit, the shingle and tile roofs were destroyed, but the metal roofs were untouched,” the manufacturer said. 

Galvalume, a specialized coated steel sheet that is used exclusively in the construction industry, is used mainly in roofing and siding of buildings. 

Galvalume prices have been declining in the first half of 2024, mainly due to pressure from overseas imported material, but also due to declining hot-rolled coil prices. 

Fastmarkets’ monthly price assessment for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US was $48 per hundredweight ($960 per short ton) on May 21, declining by 7.69% from $52 per cwt on April 16 and by 21.31% from $61 per cwt on May 16 2023.

Another reason homeowners are choosing to install metal roofs is because it might help them negotiate better home insurance rates, which have skyrocketed in the recent three years, conference attendees said. 

“Home insurance rates have doubled after the hurricane, but if you have a metal roof then you can get a better insurance rate,” the manufacturer said. 

Another conference attendee agreed.

“Homeowner’s insurance went up by three times in the last three years,” the conference attendee said. 

A second metal roof manufacturer added, “Homeowner’s insurance is a problem because the rates keep going up constantly.”

The second manufacturer continued, “business is decent, also we are coming off a couple of record years.” 

The increased uptake of metal roofs has also created space for specialized metal products.

A representative of US Steel who was present at the show said that Coastalume™, the company’s specialized Galvalume product that was introduced in October, has been “successful.”

“Coastalume™ has the only coastal warrantee on steel substrate, and it is designed to compete with aluminium in coastal environments,” the US Steel representative said. 

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