World roofing demand to reach 9.4 billion square meters in 2010.

Global demand for roofing materials is projected to advance 2.6 percent per year through 2010 to 9.4 billion square meters, with a market value of $54 billion. Growth will moderate from that of the 2000-2005 period, as demand for roofing materials decelerates in the two largest markets: the US and China. In the US, a softening residential market will constrain demand for roofing over the forecast period. In China, roofing demand will still outstrip the world average, but a deceleration in building construction spending from the nearly 20 percent annual rate of the 2 ill reduce the growth rate. These and other trends are presented in World Roofing, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.

Developing countries in Asia, including China, will record the fastest growth in demand for roofing materials through 2010. Rising living standards in countries such as India, Malaysia and Thailand will foster demand for new housing construction, as well as reroofing with more durable or aesthetically pleasing materials. Other regions with gains for roofing demand exceeding the world average will be Eastern Europe and the Africa/Mideast region. In Eastern Europe, economic expansion and building construction will fuel demand for roofing.

Unlike the world's developing regions, the industrialized countries will see much more restrained increases in demand for roofing materials. Given the maturity of the building infrastructure in many of these countries, reroofing constitutes a larger proportion of demand. In the US, the global leader in roofing demand, prospects for roofing materials will benefit from an improving outlook for nonresidential building con

Elastomeric and plastic roofing materials are expected to post the fastest increases through 2010, each from a relatively small base. Annual gains in excess of 15 percent in China will buoy demand for elastomeric roofing. Nonresidential building construction spending will support prospects for plastic roofing in low-slope applications. Bituminous roofing was the largest segment of world roofing demand in 2005, accounting for more than two-fifths of the total. In 2005, tile roofing was the World Roofing (published 07/2006, 392 pages) is available for $5,500 from The Freedonia Group, Inc., 767 Beta Drive, Cleveland, OH 44143-2326. For further details, please contact Corinne Gangloff by phone [phone], fax [phone] or e-mail [e-mail]. Information may also be obtained through www.freedoniagroup.com.

A limited license to use or reprint information from this news release is granted to you provided attribution for the same--including, if possible, the price of the report--is given to The Freedonia Group, Inc. (Cleveland, OH). We would also appreciate the courtesy of receiving a copy of the article or publication in which we appear.

WORLD ROOFING DEMAND
(million square meters)
                                                 % Annual Growth
Item                    2000    2005    2010     05/00     10/05

World Roofing Demand    7103    8285    9430       3.1      2.6
  North America         2445    2800    2930       2.7      0.9
  Western Europe         963     995    1050       0.7      1.1
  Asia/Pacific          2701    3315    4070       4.2      4.2
  Rest of World          994    1175    1380       3.4      3.3

[C] 2006 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.