SFIA Quarterly Market Data and Nonresidential Volume Reports for Cold-Formed Steel

SECOND QUARTER 2021

Following a year of historic disruption to the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, total manufacturing volume of cold-formed steel framing products continues to mirror the growth of nonresidential construction and has fully recovered from the sharp decline in volume experienced one year ago.   According to the latest Quarterly Market Data Report for Q2 2021 released by the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA), total steel stud volume increased 1.2 percent sequentially (vs. Q1 2021) and were up 11 percent over total tons produced in the same quarter of 2020. Also in 2Q 2021, structural steel studs were up 6.4% Y-O-Y and Nonstructural steel studs gained 15.4 percent Y-O-Y. 

Structural products are typically used for load bearing applications, such as exterior walls, lateral force resisting systems, floors and roofs. Applications for Nonstructural products generally include framing for non-load bearing walls, soffits, and backing for architectural finishes. The data in the SFIA Market Data Report is collected through an industry-wide survey.

The results of the data surveys and analysis are available for purchase at this Link.  SFIA members can access the current and historical data and analysis reports for free by signing in to the members-only site here.

 About the Reports

The cold-formed steel stud industry is a good leading indicator of non-residential construction demand. Companies in the industry typically produce two major categories of materials, structural studs which are generally installed early in the process as the building shell is being built, and nonstructural studs which are typically used to frame interior walls and similar systems closer to the end of construction. Movements in manufacturing volumes of these products can provide some insight into the current stage of the market cycle.

This report provides buyers and users of cold-formed steel framing in the United States with an industry-wide statistical quarterly summary of the volume of steel (in raw tons before processing) used to produce studs, track, joists, angle, furring channel, hat channel, flat steel, Z furring, clips, purlins, girts, resilient channel, cold-rolled channel, cold-formed truss components, and special cold-formed shapes.  Data is reported for four regions in the United States:  West, North Central, South Central, and East. 

The report is available in two formats:

Quarterly Market Data Report, providing a statistical summary by region and application (Structural and Nonstructural products)

Quarterly Nonresidential Volume Report, which offers the statistical summary along with comparative data for the nonresidential market, and indicators that provide a view of the prevailing sentiment in the market.

All reports are available at SFIAData.com.