In this publication, we often turn to roofing distributors to provide insights into the upcoming trends affecting the industry. Just as important, however, is what their customers are saying.

As 2025 begins, it’s important for distributors to keep their fingers on the pulse of what their contractor customers need to succeed. Roofing Supply Pro’s sister publication, Roofing Contractor, provides that very data with its annual State of the Industry survey and report.

The survey was distributed to roofingcontractor.com readers last fall. More than half (56%) identified themselves as primarily residential, generating more than 50% of their business revenue from non-commercial projects. Another 29% are primarily commercial, drawing over half of their revenue from non-residential companies. The remaining 15% is a mix of both sectors.

Take a look at sales outlooks, product trends and more that emerged from the data so you can be ahead of the curve and optimize your partnerships with roofing customers.

Product Trends

According to the survey, contractors are involved with an average of seven different product types, meaning distributors with a diverse offering of products will serve the most contractors. The most popular product is single-ply roofing, with 81% of respondents offering it, followed closely by metal roofing systems at 79% and steep-slope asphalt shingles at 75%.

Shingle sales account for the largest portion of overall revenue, making up an average of 22% of total revenue. The next closest is single-ply at 20%.

Primarily commercial contractors reported the following:

• Around 88% of customers are involved with single-ply, which makes up an average of 43% of their overall revenue.
• Metal roofing is offered by 83% of commercial contractors, though it only makes up an average of 16% of their revenue.
• Metal accessories round out the top three, with three-fourths of contractors offering the product category. This makes up about 7% of their revenue.

Primarily residential contractors reported the following:

• The most popular product is asphalt shingles, with 85% using it and accounting for an average of 33% of revenue.
• Metal accessories are offered by 77% of contractors, making up 8% of their overall revenue on average.
• Metal roofing systems are the third most popular items at 76%, making up an average of 13% of overall revenue.

As of this report, the products used the least are garden roofing (28%), concrete tile (29%), and slate (30%). The least popular product among commercial contractors is spray polyurethane foam, with only 19% offering it. For residential contractors, garden roofing is of little interest, with only 17% including it in their services.

When gazing into their crystal balls, residential contractors expect their asphalt shingle sales to see the most growth in 2025 of any product category, followed by solar. Commercial contractors forecast metal roofing system sales will see the biggest bump in 2025 along with metal accessories.

Which Products to Offer

As to the specific types of products that distributors should concentrate on providing their customers, the following are what contractors say make up most of their sales based on the roofing system type.

• Low-slope Asphalt: Modified bitumen-SBS. This makes up 42% of sales. Next is BUR at 28% and mod bit-APP at 27%
• Single-ply Roofing: TPO. Overall, TPO accounts for 36% of single-ply roofing sales. This further breaks down to 30% of residential contractor sales and 49% of commercial contractor sales. Next is EPDM at 28%, then PVC at 24%.
• Metal Roofing: Architectural standing seam. This makes up 29% of sales, followed closely by roof edge and gutter systems at 27% and structural standing seam at 25%.
• Steep-slope Asphalt: Laminate shingles. These generate just under a third of sales. Next are wind- or hail-resistant shingles at 28% and strip or 3-tab shingles at 23%.

Selective with Solar

As renewable energy continues to rise in popularity with property owners, so do solar roofing products. As previously mentioned, residential roofing contractors expect their solar sales to increase in 2025, perhaps fueled by the fact that 84% said their sales had increased from 2023 to 2024.

Commercial contractors aren’t as confident, with 69% of those offering solar saying they’ll sell more of it in the coming year. This is despite 78% saying their sales increased in 2024.

Around a third (31%) of all survey respondents currently offer solar. Broken down by sector, 24% of residential contractors sling solar while 25% of commercial contractors sell renewable energy products to their customers.

Sales Outlook

Roofing distributors should be encouraged by the optimism contractors have as they forecast their annual sales.

• Three-fourths of respondents expect sales to improve in 2025 compared to 2024.
• That positivity grows when projecting into the next three years: 85% of contractors anticipate sales growth between now and 2027.

Residential contractors appear to be more excited about 2025, with 75% saying their overall sales will grow this year and 83% expecting sales to improve over the next three years.

Compare this to commercial contractors, where 68% expect 2025 to see improved sales while 83% expect total sales volumes to grow through 2027.

• Around 77% of primarily residential contractors say residential sales will increase over the next three years,
• Only 36% of commercial contractors expect their residential sales to improve.
• Roughly 85% of commercial contractors anticipate commercial sales to grow in the next three years,
• Just over half (55%) of primarily residential contractors believe commercial sales will grow in three years.

Overcoming Challenges

Despite the expressed optimism for sales, contractors will need the help of distributors to clear the hurdles leading to success. Some are out of the hands of distributors while others are in their wheelhouse.

Of the issues contractors are facing, these are top of mind for contractors:

• Current economy and inflation, listed by 52% of respondents
• Lack of qualified workers, 44%
• Increased building material costs, 43%
• Lowball pricing and bidding wars, 35%

To the relief of distributors, the supply chain and material shortages are concerns for only 22% of all respondents, with residential contractors more worried than commercial.

Cybersecurity and protecting a client’s building information and personal data is of little concern, with only 5% listing it as a worry.

Latinos and Labor

Much like last year’s report, the workforce remains a top issue for contractors, and one of the solutions continues to be a focus on supporting the Latino community within roofing.

• On average, respondents reported one-third of crew members and one-fifth of senior management members speak a language other than English.
• When asked what language is most commonly spoken, Spanish was by far the largest with 69% of respondents listing it, followed by English at 42%.

Among the ways distributors can support the Latino community is by sponsoring events aimed at elevating Latino contractors. ABC Supply was among the sponsors of the Techos y Mas event held during the 2024 Best of Success conference. The day of presentations was held in Spanish by professionals in the industry.

“ABC Supply … has noticed the potential that the Latino community is growing within this industry, so what we are trying to do — and it’s important to us because we value [our] customer and installers — we’re trying to help them grow their business,” said Ramon Aguinaga, an ABC Supply outside sales rep in attendance. “That way, if we help them evolve and get better within the industry, that will also, in turn, give us more business, so it’s very important to us that they succeed."

Distributors themselves can benefit from serving Latino customers. Speaking to RSP last December, Sol Cerrada, president of SYL Roofing Supply in Florida, said they have tailored their services to this demographic since its founding in 2018, and now have nearly 50 employees, are launching an app and are eyeing an expansion to a third location.

"A lot of the market in west and central Florida is handled by Latinos; we find that there’s still a language barrier out there, even in the supply industry, so making the client comfortable in their own language is extremely important to us," she said.

Tech Assistance

When it comes to technology, distributors can lend a hand to their customers through their own software platforms or direct them to solutions that contractors need.

Estimating software is the most widely used among survey respondents, with 74% currently using it. This is followed by enterprise or accounting software at 69%, and business process software is used by 64%.

About 61% use aerial measurement tools and another 19% are considering using them in the next year or two. Customer relationship management (CRM) software and cloud computing completed the top half of the list of commonly used technology.

As for what technology contractors are most interested in pursuing, 28% of all respondents said they’re exploring 3D modeling, while a quarter are interested in implementing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics within the next two years.

John DeRosa, director of contractor training at SRS Distribution, says when discussing technology with customers, it’s less about explaining the perceived value of the tool and more about how that tool will solve a problem for your customers.

“You need to be an expert where you need to understand not necessarily what the product does, but what it does represent [as] an advantage for the customer,” DeRosa said.