Factory Built Housing Components

US demand to reach $17 billion in 2006

Factory-built housing components demand is projected to increase 5.3 percent per annum through 2006 to $16.9 billion. Growth will be driven by the increased utilization of prefabricated components on a per structure basis, which will in turn be supported by the advantages in construction cycle time, cost and product quality offered by the components relative to site-built construction methods. Moreover, this pace will represent an improvement from the 1996-2001 period as a result of an anticipated recovery in the manufactured housing market, a key end use for components.

I-joists, walls/partitions to offer strong growth

Roof trusses have traditionally dominated prefabricated component shipments, accounting for over one-half of total shipments in 2001. However, gains for roof trusses will be limited through 2006 by the high market penetration levels achieved by the products, as the market is nearing saturation. Components such as I-joists and prefabricated walls and partitions will offer much stronger growth prospects.

Prefabricated housing market to post doubledigit annual gains

The sheer size of the site-built housing market leads to site-built housing dominating demand for prefabricated components. These applications accounted for over four-fifths of total sales in 2001, and demand will rise nearly four percent per year through 2006. In contrast, demand for factory-built components in prefabricated housing will show a significant improvement from the 1996-2001 period with projected annual gains of over ten percent.

Industry concentration

The factory-built housing component industry is highly fragmented, consisting of thousands of companies, the majority of which are small, privately-held firms operating in only a single product grouping or regional market. Industry leaders are generally segmented along market lines, consisting of diversified building material suppliers that serve the site-built housing market and prefabricated housing manufacturers that produce components for internal use.

Study coverage

Factory-Built Housing Components is a new Freedonia study. It presents historical data through 2001 plus forecasts to 2006 and 2011 by product, market and region of the US. The study also presents market shares for key competitors and profiles producers and suppliers in the US industry.