The residential building materials market grew an average of 5.5% by volume between 2019 and 2020,  according to Principia’s DemandBuilder^®. Twenty of the building materials tracked in DemandBuilder^® grew as fast or faster in 2020 than the average 5.5%.

The steepest spikes in building materials demand in 2020 were seen in the repair and remodeling (R&R) segment—which benefited from homeowner desire for outdoor living space during a pandemic. The top three fastest growing materials were in decking with low maintenance capped composites and cellular PVC leading the surge, followed by pressure treated (PT) wood. These three products took share from other wood and non-wood decking products in 2020.

Exterior trim and siding also grew during this period of high exterior R&R activity. Engineered wood and cellular PVC tied for fastest-growing by volume in the exterior trim category. While engineered wood led siding growth at 9.1%, masonry veneer and fiber cement both grew more than 7%.

Capped composite and aluminum products also grew over 3 percentage points faster than average growth by volume for the railing category.

Metal and tile roofing, with growth of 7.8% and 7.5% respectively, benefited from a historic weather season, including the most active Atlantic hurricane season since 1851 and a record-setting wildfire season in California, Colorado, Oregon and other western states.

Contact us to learn more about the anticipated growth rate through 2023 for these 20 products and other building products tracked by Principia.