The Roofing Brief deflated the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index for roofing materials by the Consumer Price Index to answer one question: after stripping out general inflation, has a roof actually become more expensive since 1990? The short answer is yes, but almost all of the real increase arrived after 2005. Through the 1990s, roofing materials got cheaper in real terms. This report tracks the inflation-adjusted price of roofing materials and roofing-contractor work from 1990 through mid-2026, using annual averages of official BLS index series.
This is the real-terms companion to our nominal Roofing Material Price and Inflation Index, which tracks the raw index against CPI without deflating. Here we compute the deflated (real) series so the trend reflects buying power, not headline price tags.
Executive Summary
- The BLS producer price index for asphalt shingle and coating materials manufacturing rose about 260% from 1990 to 2025, while the CPI for all items rose about 146% over the same period. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED.
- After deflating by CPI, roofing materials cost about 46% more in real terms in 2025 than in 1990. Roofing Brief calculation from BLS series.
- The real increase is not steady. From 1990 to 2004, inflation-adjusted roofing material prices fell about 15% below their 1990 level, bottoming in 1999. Roofing Brief calculation.
- The real price stepped up sharply in 2008 and 2009, when the industry index jumped even after adjusting for inflation, tracking crude oil and asphalt costs. Source: BLS via FRED.
- A second real step-up came in 2021 and 2022. Real roofing material prices peaked in 2022, about 49% above the 1990 baseline. Roofing Brief calculation.
- Roofing-contractor work (a separate BLS index) rose about 107% nominally from 2008 to 2025, or about 39% in real terms, meaning labor and installation inflation ran faster than materials over that window. Source: BLS via FRED.
- Roofing materials are not simply tracking consumer inflation. They are more volatile, more oil-linked, and, since the mid-2000s, structurally higher in real terms.
Key Findings
- The BLS Producer Price Index for Asphalt Shingle and Coating Materials Manufacturing (industry NAICS 324122, base June 1984=100) averaged 98.8 in 1990 and 355.5 in 2025, a nominal rise of 259.8%. United States. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, PPI series PCU324122324122, via FRED; annual averages are a Roofing Brief calculation from monthly data.
- The CPI for All Urban Consumers, All Items (base 1982-1984=100) averaged 130.7 in 1990 and 322.0 in 2025, a rise of 146.4%. United States. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPIAUCSL, via FRED.
- Deflating roofing materials by CPI, the real roofing materials index (1990=100) stood at 146.0 in 2025, a real increase of 46.0% since 1990. Roofing Brief calculation from BLS series.
- Real roofing material prices fell through the 1990s, reaching a low of 82.1 (1990=100) in 1999, about 18% below the 1990 level in inflation-adjusted terms. Roofing Brief calculation.
- From 1990 to 2004, real roofing material prices declined 14.9%. From 2004 to 2025 they rose 71.6% in real terms. The turning point sits in the mid-2000s. Roofing Brief calculation.
- The real index jumped from 95.1 in 2007 to 113.9 in 2008 and 135.1 in 2009, an inflation-adjusted increase during the crude oil and financial-crisis period. Source: BLS via FRED; index rebasing is a Roofing Brief calculation.
- During the pandemic era, the nominal shingle index rose 33.4% from 2020 to 2023 while CPI rose 17.7%, a real increase of 13.4%. United States. Source: BLS via FRED.
- Real roofing material prices peaked in 2022 at 148.7 (1990=100), the highest inflation-adjusted level in the 1990 to 2025 record. Roofing Brief calculation.
- A second BLS commodity series, Prepared Asphalt and Tar Roofing and Siding Products (WPU1361, base 1982=100), rose 270.5% nominally from 1990 to 2025 and 50.3% in real terms, corroborating the shingle-industry series. Source: BLS via FRED.
- The BLS Producer Price Index for Roofing Contractors, Nonresidential Building Work (PCU23816X23816X, base December 2007=100) rose 107.4% from 2008 to 2025, versus a 49.6% CPI rise, a real increase of 38.7%. Source: BLS via FRED.
- Since 2008, roofing-contractor work rose faster than roofing materials in nominal terms, up 107.4% versus 91.7% for the shingle materials index. Source: BLS via FRED.
- The compound annual real growth rate of roofing materials was about 1.09% per year from 1990 to 2025, meaning real roofing prices outpaced general inflation by roughly one percentage point a year on average. Roofing Brief calculation.
- As of June 2026, the shingle-industry PPI reading was 369.7 and CPI was 332.6, both continuing above their 2025 annual averages. Source: BLS via FRED, June 2026 observations.
What Real Roofing Prices Have Done Since 1990
Nominal price tags always rise, so the raw producer price index for roofing materials climbs almost every year. The useful question is whether roofing has outpaced everything else consumers buy. To answer it, we divide the roofing materials index by the CPI for all items and rebase to 1990=100. The result is a real, inflation-adjusted price series.
The pattern splits into two regimes. From 1990 through about 2004, roofing materials were a deflationary category. The real index fell to the low 80s, meaning a homeowner in the late 1990s and early 2000s paid less for roofing materials, relative to the cost of everything else, than a homeowner in 1990. From roughly 2005 onward, the direction reversed. Two large step-ups, one around 2008 to 2009 and one around 2021 to 2022, pushed the real index to the mid-140s.
| Year | Shingle PPI (Jun 1984=100) | CPI-U (1982-84=100) | Real roofing materials index (1990=100) | Real WPU1361 index (1990=100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 98.8 | 130.7 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 1991 | 100.6 | 136.2 | 97.7 | 96.4 |
| 1992 | 98.7 | 140.3 | 93.0 | 91.7 |
| 1993 | 99.3 | 144.5 | 90.9 | 89.6 |
| 1994 | 98.0 | 148.2 | 87.4 | 85.5 |
| 1995 | 102.2 | 152.4 | 88.7 | 87.6 |
| 1996 | 103.3 | 156.9 | 87.1 | 84.7 |
| 1997 | 103.8 | 160.5 | 85.5 | 82.0 |
| 1998 | 103.6 | 163.0 | 84.0 | 80.1 |
| 1999 | 103.4 | 166.6 | 82.1 | 78.0 |
| 2000 | 108.0 | 172.2 | 83.0 | 79.2 |
| 2001 | 111.4 | 177.0 | 83.2 | 79.6 |
| 2002 | 114.9 | 179.9 | 84.4 | 80.9 |
| 2003 | 120.3 | 184.0 | 86.5 | 82.0 |
| 2004 | 121.6 | 188.9 | 85.1 | 80.4 |
| 2005 | 133.9 | 195.3 | 90.6 | 87.3 |
| 2006 | 147.5 | 201.6 | 96.7 | 92.8 |
| 2007 | 149.2 | 207.3 | 95.1 | 91.9 |
| 2008 | 185.4 | 215.3 | 113.9 | 112.0 |
| 2009 | 219.2 | 214.6 | 135.1 | 138.7 |
| 2010 | 220.4 | 218.1 | 133.6 | 136.9 |
| 2011 | 231.4 | 224.9 | 136.1 | 137.1 |
| 2012 | 232.2 | 229.6 | 133.7 | 131.4 |
| 2013 | 237.7 | 233.0 | 134.9 | 134.5 |
| 2014 | 233.3 | 236.7 | 130.3 | 129.4 |
| 2015 | 231.5 | 237.0 | 129.2 | 128.5 |
| 2016 | 229.6 | 240.0 | 126.5 | 126.0 |
| 2017 | 228.7 | 245.1 | 123.4 | 122.7 |
| 2018 | 242.0 | 251.1 | 127.4 | 127.0 |
| 2019 | 251.5 | 255.7 | 130.1 | 130.2 |
| 2020 | 255.8 | 258.9 | 130.7 | 131.3 |
| 2021 | 282.1 | 271.0 | 137.7 | 139.8 |
| 2022 | 329.2 | 292.6 | 148.7 | 152.4 |
| 2023 | 341.4 | 304.7 | 148.2 | 151.9 |
| 2024 | 350.8 | 313.7 | 147.9 | 152.2 |
| 2025 | 355.5 | 322.0 | 146.0 | 150.3 |
Roofing Brief calculation. Index values are BLS annual averages; the real index columns are computed by deflating each series by CPI and rebasing to 1990=100.
The 2008 and 2022 Step-Ups
The two real increases align with commodity and supply shocks rather than steady drift. Asphalt shingles are a petroleum-derived product, so the roofing materials index tends to move with crude oil and refined asphalt costs. The 2008 to 2009 jump coincided with the oil price spike of that period. The 2021 to 2022 jump coincided with the broad post-pandemic surge in construction-materials prices. In both episodes the roofing index rose faster than CPI, which is why the real index climbed rather than held flat.
| Year | Real roofing materials index (1990=100) |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 100.0 |
| 1995 | 88.7 |
| 2000 | 83.0 |
| 2005 | 90.6 |
| 2010 | 133.6 |
| 2015 | 129.2 |
| 2020 | 130.7 |
| 2025 | 146.0 |
Roofing Brief calculation from BLS PPI and CPI series.
Materials Versus Labor
Homeowners pay for both materials and installation. The BLS tracks roofing-contractor output separately through the Producer Price Index for Roofing Contractors, Nonresidential Building Work, which begins in December 2007. From 2008 to 2025 that index rose 107.4% nominally and 38.7% in real terms. Over the same window the shingle materials index rose 91.7% nominally. Contractor work therefore rose faster than materials in nominal terms since 2008, a reminder that labor and installation costs, not only material costs, drive the total price of a roof.
Original Synthesis (Roofing Brief Calculations)
The following figures are derived by The Roofing Brief from public BLS data. They are original calculations, not published BLS statistics.
1. Real Roofing Materials Index (1990=100). Formula: real index = (roofing materials PPI in year Y / CPI in year Y) divided by (roofing materials PPI in 1990 / CPI in 1990), times 100. Inputs: BLS PPI PCU324122324122 and CPIAUCSL, annual averages of monthly data. Result: 100.0 in 1990, 82.1 at the 1999 low, 148.7 at the 2022 peak, and 146.0 in 2025. Limitation: producer prices are factory-gate prices, not retail prices paid by homeowners, and CPI-All-Items is a general deflator rather than a roofing-specific one.
2. Two-regime decomposition. Logic: split the 1990 to 2025 real series at 2004, the last year before the sustained real climb. Inputs: the real index above. Result: real roofing materials fell 14.9% from 1990 to 2004, then rose 71.6% from 2004 to 2025. Limitation: 2004 is chosen as the visible inflection year; nearby cut points shift the split modestly.
3. Real compound annual growth rate. Formula: (real index 2025 / real index 1990) raised to the power 1/35, minus 1. Inputs: real index values for 1990 and 2025. Result: about 1.09% per year, the average annual amount by which roofing materials outran general consumer inflation across the full period. Limitation: a CAGR smooths over the highly uneven year-to-year path and hides the flat-to-falling 1990s.
4. Materials-versus-labor gap since 2008. Logic: compare nominal growth of the shingle materials index and the roofing-contractor index over the common 2008 to 2025 window. Inputs: BLS PCU324122324122 and PCU23816X23816X. Result: contractor work up 107.4%, materials up 91.7%, a gap of about 16 percentage points in favor of labor. Limitation: the contractor index covers nonresidential building work and starts in December 2007, so it is not a residential-only or pre-2008 measure.
Chart Recommendations
- Real roofing materials index, 1990 to 2025. Data: the real index column above. Source: BLS PPI and CPI. Insight: roofing was cheaper in real terms in the 1990s and stepped up after 2005. Citation-worthy because it reframes a rising nominal chart as a two-regime real story.
- Nominal shingle PPI versus CPI, indexed to 1990. Data: both indices rebased to 1990=100. Source: BLS. Insight: the widening gap after 2005 is the real increase. Useful as a companion to the deflated line.
- Materials versus contractor labor, 2008 to 2025. Data: shingle PPI and roofing-contractor PPI rebased to 2008. Source: BLS. Insight: labor outpaced materials since 2008.
- Year-over-year change in the shingle PPI. Data: annual percentage change. Source: BLS. Insight: highlights the 2008 to 2009 and 2021 to 2022 spikes against otherwise low single-digit moves.
Methodology
Source selection: we used official U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics index series retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database. Inclusion required a continuous monthly index covering the relevant period from an official statistical agency. We used the industry Producer Price Index for Asphalt Shingle and Coating Materials Manufacturing (PCU324122324122, base June 1984=100), the commodity Producer Price Index for Prepared Asphalt and Tar Roofing and Siding Products (WPU1361, base 1982=100), the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, All Items (CPIAUCSL, base 1982-1984=100), and the Producer Price Index for Roofing Contractors, Nonresidential Building Work (PCU23816X23816X, base December 2007=100).
Calculation rules: annual figures are simple averages of the available monthly observations for each calendar year, computed by The Roofing Brief. Real (inflation-adjusted) series are computed by dividing each price index by CPI for the same year and rebasing to 1990=100, except the contractor series, which is rebased to its 2008 base year because it begins in December 2007. Percentage changes compare annual averages. The 2026 figures are partial-year averages through June 2026 and are labeled as such. Conflicting numbers were handled by preferring the industry PPI (PCU324122324122) as the headline series and using the commodity series (WPU1361) as corroboration.
Limitations: producer price indices measure prices received by domestic producers, not final retail or installed prices paid by homeowners. CPI-All-Items is a general deflator, so real figures show roofing relative to overall consumer inflation, not relative to construction-specific inflation. Index base periods differ across series, which is why all comparisons here are done as rebased indices or percentage changes rather than raw level comparisons. Data last retrieved July 2026; latest monthly observation used is June 2026.
Source Quality Ranking
Tier 1 (primary, official statistical agencies): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index program; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index program; series retrieved via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database, which redistributes the official BLS series.
Tier 2 (credible aggregators of official data): none relied on for figures in this report.
Tier 3 (journalism and commentary): none relied on for figures in this report.
Excluded: unsourced contractor price estimates, roundup pages, and any AI-generated statistics. Every number in this report traces to a BLS index series.
Citation Format
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index by Industry, Asphalt Shingle and Coating Materials Manufacturing (PCU324122324122), via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2026.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, All Items (CPIAUCSL), via FRED, 2026.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index by Commodity, Prepared Asphalt and Tar Roofing and Siding Products (WPU1361), via FRED, 2026.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index by Industry, Roofing Contractors, Nonresidential Building Work (PCU23816X23816X), via FRED, 2026.
Real (inflation-adjusted) index values and rebasings are Roofing Brief calculations from the BLS series above.
Most Quotable Statistics
- Roofing materials cost about 46% more in real terms in 2025 than in 1990, after adjusting for consumer inflation. Roofing Brief calculation from BLS data.
- Through the 1990s, roofing got cheaper in real terms, bottoming about 18% below its 1990 level in 1999. Roofing Brief calculation.
- Real roofing prices peaked in 2022, about 49% above 1990. Roofing Brief calculation.
- Roofing materials rose 260% nominally since 1990 versus 146% for consumer prices. Source: BLS via FRED.
Data Limitations
Producer price indices are factory-gate prices, not installed prices, so they understate what a homeowner pays for a finished roof, which also includes labor, overhead, and margin. The real figures use CPI-All-Items as the deflator, which measures general consumer inflation rather than construction inflation. The roofing-contractor index covers nonresidential building work and begins in December 2007, so it cannot describe residential-only or pre-2008 trends. Annual figures are averages of monthly data and will differ slightly from single-month readings. The 2026 values are partial-year through June.
Downloadable Dataset Recommended Fields
- Year
- Shingle materials PPI, annual average (PCU324122324122)
- Roofing commodity PPI, annual average (WPU1361)
- Roofing-contractor PPI, annual average (PCU23816X23816X)
- CPI-U All Items, annual average (CPIAUCSL)
- Real roofing materials index (1990=100)
- Year-over-year nominal percentage change
- Year-over-year real percentage change
- Source series ID and base period
Press Summary
A new analysis by The Roofing Brief finds that roofing materials have become more expensive in real terms since 1990, but the increase is concentrated in the past two decades. Using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price data deflated by the Consumer Price Index, the report shows roofing materials rose about 260% in nominal terms from 1990 to 2025 while consumer prices rose about 146%, leaving roofing about 46% higher after inflation. The path was not steady. Real roofing prices fell through the 1990s, bottoming in 1999, then stepped up sharply around 2008 and again in 2021 and 2022, peaking in 2022 at roughly 49% above the 1990 level. Roofing-contractor labor rose even faster than materials since 2008. The findings suggest roofing behaves as an oil-linked, shock-prone category rather than a steady tracker of consumer inflation. All figures derive from official BLS index series.
Suggested Headlines
- Roofing Materials Cost 46% More Than in 1990, Even After Inflation
- The Roof That Got Cheaper: Why 1990s Roofing Beat Inflation and 2020s Roofing Did Not
- Two Shocks, One Roof: How 2008 and 2022 Reset Real Roofing Prices
- Roofing Labor Is Now Outpacing Roofing Materials, BLS Data Shows
- Real Roofing Prices Peaked in 2022. Here Is the 35-Year Record
Frequently Asked Questions
Are roofing materials more expensive than in 1990 after inflation?
Yes. After deflating BLS producer prices by the Consumer Price Index, roofing materials cost about 46% more in real terms in 2025 than in 1990. Roofing Brief calculation from BLS data.
How much have roofing materials risen in nominal terms since 1990?
The BLS shingle and coating materials producer price index rose about 260% from a 1990 average of 98.8 to a 2025 average of 355.5. Source: BLS via FRED.
How much did consumer prices rise over the same period?
The CPI for all items rose about 146%, from a 1990 average of 130.7 to a 2025 average of 322.0. Source: BLS via FRED.
Did roofing ever get cheaper in real terms?
Yes. From 1990 through 2004, inflation-adjusted roofing material prices fell about 15%, reaching their lowest point in 1999. Roofing Brief calculation.
When did real roofing prices rise the most?
Two step-ups stand out, one around 2008 to 2009 and one around 2021 to 2022. Real prices peaked in 2022. Roofing Brief calculation from BLS data.
Why are roofing prices linked to oil?
Asphalt shingles are a petroleum-derived product, so the roofing materials index tends to move with crude oil and refined asphalt costs. The 2008 and 2022 spikes coincided with commodity and supply shocks. Source: BLS producer price data.
Has roofing labor risen faster than materials?
Since 2008, the BLS roofing-contractor index rose 107.4% while the shingle materials index rose 91.7%, so contractor work outpaced materials in nominal terms. Source: BLS via FRED.
What is the real roofing materials index?
It is a Roofing Brief calculation that divides the BLS roofing materials producer price index by CPI and rebases to 1990=100, so the trend reflects buying power rather than headline prices.
How much did roofing prices rise during the pandemic?
The shingle index rose 33.4% from 2020 to 2023 while CPI rose 17.7%, a real increase of 13.4%. Source: BLS via FRED.
What is the most recent reading?
As of June 2026, the shingle-industry producer price index was 369.7 and CPI was 332.6, both above their 2025 annual averages. Source: BLS via FRED, June 2026.
Reviewed by The Roofing Brief Team. Last reviewed July 2026.