The roofing industry will remain under economic pressure in 2026. While new construction is slowing significantly, renovation and repair are proving to be comparatively stable business areas. However, the latest economic survey by KMU Forschung Austria for the first half of the year also shows the first tentative signs of stabilization.

In the wood construction sector, new orders declined by 2.3 percent in nominal terms in the first quarter. Following an average price increase of 2.9 percent, this corresponds to a real decline of 5.0 percent. Twenty-one percent of companies reported rising order intake, 43 percent remained at the previous year’s level, and 36 percent experienced declines.

Prefabricated home production and new roof construction were particularly hard hit: order intake fell at 61 percent and 55 percent of companies, respectively. The situation is different for roof extensions and renovations. Here, 25 percent reported rising order intake, 55 percent reported stable levels, and only 20 percent reported a decline.

Nevertheless, sentiment remains subdued. 26 percent of timber construction companies rate the business situation as good, 35 percent as typical for the season, and 39 percent as poor. The net balance stands at –13 percentage points but has improved slightly compared to the previous quarter.

The order backlog is sufficient for an average of 12.7 weeks of full capacity utilization, which is higher than that of roofers. At the same time, a decline of 11.5 percent compared to the previous year is also evident here. 39 percent of companies have 10 to 19 weeks of capacity utilization, while 17 percent have 20 weeks or more.

It is interesting to look at expectations in the wood construction sector: Although the balance remains negative at –10 percentage points, pessimism is declining significantly. 18 percent expect incoming orders to rise, 54 percent anticipate no change, and 28 percent expect declines. In the previous year, the balance of expectations was still at –30 percentage points.
 
Source: KMU Forschung Austria