Contractors Looking at Options to Combat Material Shortages

By Heidi J. Ellsworth, RoofersCoffeeShop President 

With uncertainty about when supply chain issues will ease, contractors are turning to alternative solutions. 

We are living in uncertain times where roofing contractors are battling material shortages, price increases and lack of labor not to mention a pandemic.  Roofing companies are searching for options to combat these challenges.

According to an article from The New York Times, “The Great Supply Chain Disruption is a central element of the extraordinary uncertainty that continues to frame economic prospects worldwide. If the shortages persist well into next year, that could advance rising prices on a range of commodities.  As central banks from the United States to Australia debate the appropriate level of concern about inflation, they must consider a question none can answer with full confidence: Are the shortages and delays merely temporary mishaps accompanying the resumption of business, or something more insidious that could last well into next year?”

The article goes on to quote Adam S. Posen, a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee and now the president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, “There is a genuine uncertainty here. Normalcy might be ‘another year or two’ away.”

As business owners, roofing contractors need to be looking at the current situation and, as noted, the potential of this lasting for another year or two. How do you protect your business?  It centers around adaptability and honesty about current and future market challenges.

Almost no one in the roofing industry has remained immune to the seemingly endless supply chain woes caused by the global pandemic,” stated Bud Polston of United Asphalts. “The now familiar game of longer wait-times and increasing material costs has contractors and distributors alike searching for answers.” 

“Lead-times are being stretched into the second quarter of 2022 making it difficult to manage customer expectations and keep crews busy. Most forecasters agree that prices are likely to remain volatile and shortages of many key materials will continue to result in delays for months to come. We are seeing this again as oil prices continue to increase,” continued Polston. 

Many contractors are looking at what is available and how they can incorporate that into their business. They are considering new and old systems that are more readily accessible. That includes the return to the kettle for many.   

“In some markets we are hearing about roofers dusting off their kettles and returning to asphalt as a solution for the metal fastener and low-rise foam adhesive shortages,” stated Polston. “Many are submitting hot alternative options to specifiers in an attempt to speed up a project’s lead time.”  

“We are fortunate that our inventory of oxidized and polymer-modified asphalts remains strong, and our order fulfillment rate has been effectively unchanged by the current climate,” noted Polston.  

As roofing companies continue to look for options, it will continue to be important to not only look to the future but also look at the past. As stated earlier, it is about adaptability to new and old systems and being honest with customers about alternatives. Systems such as hot built-up roofing may not be just a short-term solution but potentially a long-term solution until we get through the current supply chain issues, whenever that may be.

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