10th Observatory of Renovation in Tile Roofing: an activity which remains positive under an overcast sky

The cautious optimism and uncertainties for the future, expressed in September 2023, are confirmed with a tenth edition of the Renovation Observatory* on a tiled cover under the sign of the anticipated slowdown in activity and signals of concern reinforced.

Good activity levels but…

80% of roofers say they will have normal or strong activity in February 2024. This figure has, however, been in continuous decline since September 2021 and the share of companies that anticipate a drop or sharp drop is increasing over 1 year with + 6 points from 12 to 18%.

…pessimistic 6-month forecasts

Hedging companies anticipate a first half of 1 down compared to 2024, particularly for the eastern half of the territory where the anticipation is significantly more negative than for the West of France.

Companies with fewer than 10 employees anticipate a smaller drop (-1,9) than those with more than 10 employees (-4,5); the latter are also more impacted by the collapse of the new housing market which represents a more significant part of their activity.

Business conditions (availability and price of supplies and materials): return to normal

The strong tensions noted between 2021 and mid-2023 on supply conditions and prices for supplies and materials (wood, tiles, etc.) are being resolved or even disappear. Whereas a year earlier, 87% of companies reported supply difficulties, this figure now fell to only 22% in February 2024. Three out of four companies still report tensions on the prices of supplies and materials and 82% say succeed in fully or partially passing on the increases.

Signals that call for caution

Order books show a slow but continuous erosion. They lost 1 month between February 2023 and February 2024, going from 7,9 months of full-time activity on average to 6,9 months. 1 in 4 companies consider this duration to be lower than normal, an increase of 8 points over 1 year.

The share of companies that report making fewer quotes than normal is also increasing, from 20% in February 2022 to 33% in February 2023 and 36% in February 2024.

For the moment, however, these alerts do not affect the morale of roofers, which remains stable with an evaluation of 3,4 out of 5 in February 2024 in the barometer average.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.