Roofing at the start of 2026

By Emma Peterson. 

Justin Koscher of PIMA walks through the Market Index Survey for Reroofing Q1 2026 results.  

2026 has already been a rollercoaster of a year with new regulation changes and geopolitical factors impacting every part of our lives – including how we conduct business in the roofing industry. For those that want a look at the larger picture of how Q1 of this year has affected contractors and other roofing professionals, the Market Index Survey for Reroofing is an invaluable resource.  

This survey, which is sponsored by a coalition of national roofing associations, tracks the successes and challenges facing the industry across fiscal quarters and years. And the results of the first quarter of 2026 were just released! Justin Koscher, president of the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA), shared the following overview of the Q1 2026 results.  

Survey demographics 

• 70% roofing contractors 
• 30% roofing consultants 
• 87% working primarily in low slope or a blend of low and steep slope 
• 13% operating only in steep-slope roofing 

Material usage 

• 32% of roofing contractor participants reported that the volume of materials installed increased in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025. 
• 32% reported no change 
• 36% reported a decrease in materials installed 

Customer inquiries 

• 36% of all respondents report that customer inquiries increased for Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025.  
• 43% report no change 
• 21% report a decrease 
• As for the Customer Inquiries Index, the total industry jumped into positive territory (57.1) 

Please note: The Customer Inquiries Index is based on a 0 to 100 scale. A score of 50 or higher suggests expansion or optimism, while a value below 50 indicates contraction or pessimism.  

Project contracts 

• 33% of all respondents report that project contracts increased for Q1 2026 as compared to the same quarter previous year 
• 40% reported no change 
• 27% reported a decrease 
• The Project Contracts Index for the total industry also climbed in to the positives, increasing to 52.9 for Q1 2026 up from 45.2 for Q4 2025.  

Please note: The Project Contracts Index operates on the same scale as the Customer Inquiries Index. 

Project backlog 

• 34% of respondents reported a project backlog of three months or longer 
• 26% of respondents reported no project backlog  
• 40% of respondents reported a backlog of one to two months 

The takeaways 

The majority of the growth related to the customer inquiries index came from businesses focused on low slope roofing and businesses focused on a blend of steep and low roofing (each reporting 59.1 and 57.1 respectively). Alternatively, steep slope only businesses reported a neutral outlook (50.0). As for project contracts, the growth came from businesses primarily engaged in low slope roofing (who had an outlook of 56.1) while the other segments reported neutrally (50.0). 

And looking at the project backlog data, the Q1 2026 results show a six-point increase in firms reporting a project backlog of three months or longer compared to the percentage of respondents that reported similar project backlogs in January 2026. 

The Q2 2026 survey will be open from Monday, July 6, 2026 to Monday, July 20, 2026. Interested professionals can sign up for updates, which can be expected in June 2026.