The ripple effect

By Emma Peterson. 

How large geopolitics impact our industry and how contractors can overcome the challenges they present. 

Running a roofing company takes a lot of time and energy, making it easy to get caught up in your day-to-day operations and miss the larger shifts in the industry. To help you take a step back and look at some of those bigger trends, we invited Wendy Marvin of Matrix Roofing and Home Solutions onto Stories from the Roof sponsored by ABC Supply for a discussion of the geopolitical changes impacting the roofing market. 

The biggest thing that Wendy highlighted was the supply chain issues emerging specifically related to oil. She explained, “Tar is a product of oil and shingles come from tar. And with everything going on with the oil market, we’re likely to see some major supply hits come, and it won’t be pretty. We’ve already seen some shingles have a 200% price increase since 2025 on the West Coast.”  

In response to this, Wendy has her team working on identifying ways to differentiate and expand their offerings. She explained, “We're already talking about it with our company. Both in terms of what other materials we can install that are not oil-based like metal, but also in the context of what other jobs can we do to have more streams of income? Things like Christmas lights or pressure washing...”  

This can sound overwhelming, but the good news is that you’re not navigating these trends and challenges alone. As Wendy put it, “We have an amazing industry. Don't feel alone. Get engaged with the groups, get engaged with the associations and go to the events. The people are caring and supportive and huge assets to have when you’re struggling.”  

Hear more from Wendy in the whole Stories from the Roof episode. It is available to Listen to anywhere you get podcasts.