Forecasting success: Industry experts share their insights and projections for 2024

By Anna Lockhart.  

In an exclusive panel discussion among industry experts, the latest MetalTalk™ dives into the current issues industry professionals are facing and what the next year might look like.  

In the recent MetalTalk™ webinar from MetalCoffeeShop®, host Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Geoff Bernstein of Vicwest, Stephen Gosk of MetalForming and Holly Gotfredson of American Metalcraft and Finishing Dynamics to discuss the current state of the metal construction industry and their predictions for the year ahead. This conversation centered around the opportunities and trends and how industry professionals can use them to further their success in 2024.  

Geoff shared that their company saw a great deal of consistency when it came to which color choices their customers were picking for roof profiles and he expects these trends to continue into 2024. He explained, “Black still is number one for us, certainly in Canada and in the northern parts of the U.S. As things move further south, we see a gradient effect. The color interest gets a lot lighter, and you think of the solar reflectivity and just the heat island effect and why that happens. But as you get into Florida, grays and whites suddenly are in demand. And for siding, I'd have to say the clear trend which we see continuing into 2024 and beyond is around the wood grain patterns within steel siding.”  

Color trends weren’t just noticeable in the residential metal market, either. When it came to architectural metals, trends certainly emerged as well. Holly, who works closely with this market sector, shared, “So, for color and PVDF extrusion coating, we saw a lot of neutrals to complement some of that wood grain in addition to the neutrals, the beiges, the off whites, the ivories. We also saw some micas and metallics, not so much the color shift, but just that little bit of sparkle to complement some of those neutral tones. In terms of profile and products we're seeing, and we did see over the last 24 months, a huge push towards perforated products, in particular perforated panels, and I do expect to see that continue in 2024.” 

For contractors in the home renovation market and those working in architectural construction, learning which color and profile trends are relevant to their market can be beneficial to securing sales and happy customers. And for metal professionals creating their own in-house materials with fabrication machines, there were trends in 2023 that could help predict what the 2024 market will look like.  

In discussing what experiences their team has had with fabricators and those purchasing equipment, Stephen shared that they have seen a great deal of customers looking to up their automation capabilities. He explained, “We continue to see a lot of dialogue around automation, increased productivity, high-capacity hemming and bending and also a real uptick in interest in long folders. But everyone continues to share the same struggles with finding employees, needing to do more with less and keeping up with some of the demand. So, I see that trend continuing, particularly looking for automated systems to feed into and the machines, eliminating the need for multiple employees at one machine. So that trend has been ongoing this past year and will continue into 2024.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the recorded session or Watch the webinar to hear more about the state of the industry.