Steep-, Low-Slope Roofing Businesses Report Positive Outlooks in Latest Reroofing Survey

Highlights from the results for the Q3 2026 Market Index Survey for Reroofing include the following:

Respondent Demographics

• Business Type: Roofing contractors comprised 56% of respondents; roofing consultants comprised 44% of respondents.
• Market Type: 93% of respondents indicated that their business is primarily low slope or a blend between low and steep slope; only 8% of respondents are engaged in steep slope only

Materials Installed 

45% of roofing contractor participants reported that the volume of materials installed increased in Q3 2026 compared to Q3 2025. 18% reported no change and 37% reported a decrease in materials installed.

Customer Inquiry Questions

• Customer Inquiries: 40% of all respondents reported that customer inquiries increased for Q3 2026 compared to Q3 2025; 35% reported no change; 24% reported a decrease.
• The Customer Inquiries Index* for the total industry climbed higher into positive territory for Q3 2026 rising to 58.3 from 53.5 in the prior quarter. Businesses engaged in primarily low-slope roofing registered the highest reading with a positive sentiment of 65.7. Businesses engaged in primarily steep-slope roofing reported a positive sentiment of 56.3 and roofing businesses that split between low and steep slope roofing reported a neutral outlook.

Project Contract Questions

Project Contracts: 39% of all respondents reported that project contracts increased for Q3 2026 as compared to the same quarter previous year; 30% reported no change; 30% reported a decrease.
The Project Contracts Index* for the total industry held steady in positive territory with a reading of 54.6 for Q3 2026 compared to 54.3 for Q2 2026. Businesses engaged primarily in either steep or low slope roofing both reported positive outlooks for the quarter. The outlook for roofing businesses with a blend of steep and low slope roofing declined to 44.3 for Q3 2026.

Project Backlog: As of October 2026, 39% of respondents reported a project backlog of 3 months or longer. This represents a 2-point increase compared to the percentage of respondents that reported similar project backlogs in July 2026. 27% of respondents reported no project backlog with 34% reporting a backlog of 1-2 months.

*Note: The 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.

Next Steps

The Q4 2026 survey will open in early January. Please plan on conducting the survey between Monday, January 4, 2027, and closing on Monday, January 18, 2027. More details are coming your way in December before the holiday.