Timber cladding’s share of the exterior fascia market in newly completed single-family homes in the US remains at just 8% of the market, according to latest statistics.
The US Census Bureau’s “Characteristics of New Single-Family Houses Completed” shows that timber cladding continues to suffer from the drastic reduction in housebuilding and competition from vinyl and fibre cement boards. The Census Bureau’s breakdown for the principle type of exterior wall material in the homes shows timber cladding has been bumping along the bottom at 7-9% of the market since 2003.
Fibre cement boards increased their market share in 2011 to 15%, while vinyl siding reduced slightly to 34%. Both fascia products have kept fairly steady or increasing market shares since 1996, whereas timber cladding has seen its slice of business reduce by 15% during the period.
Timber was used for 35,000 new single-family homes last year, compared to 152,000 for vinyl siding and 65,000 for fibre cement boards. Brick and render were the main other type of main wall exteriors, accounting for 109,000 and 78,000 homes respectively, with market shares of 24% and 17%.
Other types of wall material – which includes concrete block, aluminium siding, stone and other materials – featured as the main exterior wall material in 8,000 homes, or 2% of the market. In total, 447,000 new single-family homes were completed in 2011, down from a high of 1.65 million in 2006 and the lowest amount listed on the Census Bureau’s report since 1973.
