FGIA Statistical Review and Forecast: A Tale of Two Markets

Non-residential commercial glazing decreased 11% in 2020 across several different applications. New construction shrank by 11% as well, while renovation demand decreased by 12%. 

The new stats are part of the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) 2020/2021 U.S. Industry Statistical Review and Forecast released recently, and the results back current perspectives for both the commercial and residential markets. The report shows decreases in the commercial sector, and growth in the residential market that will continue through 2021.

The report shows decreases in the commercial sector, and growth in the residential market that will continue through 2021. “A decline is forecasted for 2021, with a rebound in 2022 and 2023,” says FGIA.

The report also states that non-residential construction demand for entry doors shrank by 10.5% in 2020. Looking forward, a continued decline in 2021 is likely followed by a recovery in 2022 by 2.6%. After 2022, an additional slight recovery of 0.3% is expected.

According to the report, contract awards saw a major decline in 2020 compared to 2019 and are expected to drop further in 2021 before recovering in 2022.

Total housing starts rebounded strongly after an initial COVID-19 slowdown and ended with strong gains for the year. Growth of 11.5% in single family starts was offset by declines of 3.5% in multifamily starts and 0.5% in manufactured housing, for an overall increase of 6.5%, according to FGIA. Going forward, the overall new housing market is expected to continue to experience strong growth in 2021 driven by single family construction with an overall increase of 11% currently forecasted.

“Residential prime window volumes grew by 1.5% in 2020 versus 2019. The increase was seen primarily in new construction with window demand increasing by 3.2% while remodeling and replacement demand was almost flat with a 0.2% increase,” an FGIA press release says. “The outlook for residential window demand is a significant increase in 2021 due to the continued strength of the new housing market in particular, with expectations for a 6.8% increase in 2021, to be followed by a 1.8% increase in 2022.”

In the residential door market, demand was even higher. In 2020, demand for entry doors used in new construction grew by 3.2%, according to the FGIA report. Meanwhile, demand for entry doors used in remodeling and replacement, which continues to represent a significantly larger share of total demand, grew 1%.

Residential skylights closed the year at just over 1.1 million units, a growth rate of 4% over 2019 volume. Activity for skylights used in new construction was up 3%, while remodeling and replacement activity was up 4% for skylights versus 2019, according to the report.