The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) released the FGIA 2020/2021 U.S. Industry Statistical Review and Forecast recently, and the results back current perspectives for the residential market—growth that will continue through 2021. Meanwhile, the report points to decreases in the commercial sector.

Residential Growth

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%. “The total market grew by 1.8% versus 2019 and is expected to grow significantly in 2021 due to strong single family construction activity. 2022 and 2023 are expected to provide additional growth,” said the FGIA.

Commercial Doors and Windows

The news was not as favorable in the commercial market. Non-residential glazing decreased by 11% in 2020, with decreases across all applications. New construction shrank by 11%, while renovation demand decreased by 12%. “A decline is forecasted for 2021, with a rebound in 2022 and 2023,” FGIA said in its press release.

In 2020, non-residential construction demand for entry doors shrank by 10.5%. 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.

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.