Producer prices for asphalt roofing reached a record in August 2026. The rest of a quote turns on squares, layers, sheathing, flashing and ventilation.
Facts checked · 7 min read
A roof replacement quote has two parts you can check separately. Material prices move with national producer prices, which the government publishes every month. The rest of the quote depends on your roof: its size and pitch, how many layers come off, what the crew finds underneath, and the flashing, ventilation and edge details. This guide covers both and gives questions that separate them in a quote.
Material prices
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks what U.S. producers receive for prepared asphalt and tar roofing and siding products in its Producer Price Index, a monthly measure of prices at the factory gate rather than at the store. They are a product line of the industry the Census Bureau calls asphalt shingle and coating materials manufacturing, whose definition lists asphalt shingles, roofing felts, roofing cements and tar paper among its products.
Asphalt roofing prices reached a record in August 2026
Producer Price Index, prepared asphalt and tar roofing and siding products, index 1982=100, not seasonally adjusted
May through August 2026 can still be revised. BLS revises producer price data for up to four months after first publication.Source: fred.stlouisfed.org
The index stood at 374.1 in August 2026, the highest value in a series that starts in 1926. It was 3.9% higher than in August 2025 and 52.7% higher than in August 2019. The launch article on this site looks at the rise from April to August 2026 in detail.
Two cautions apply. The index measures what manufacturers charge, which is not what a roofer pays a distributor and not what you pay for an installed roof. And it is a national figure, with no local breakdown for southeastern Pennsylvania.
What the work costs
Conshohocken’s roof permit addendum asks for the quantities and scope choices that make up the work on a re-roof. Each one should appear as a number or a named product in every quote you compare.
Quote item
What the borough addendum asks
Squares
How many squares will be installed; a square is 10 feet by 10 feet
Pitch
The approximate pitch of the roof
Layers removed
How many layers exist, of what type, and how many will be removed
Sheathing
Minimum sheathing thickness for the rafter spacing, and replacement of decayed sheathing with the owner’s written approval
Flashing
The type of flashing and how it will be installed
Ventilation
Whether the space under the roof is vented to the code’s ratio, and what venting will be added if not
Skylights
Whether skylights are being installed or replaced, and their flashing
Ice and water shield
Whether it will run at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line
Drip edge
Whether it will be installed along every eave
Hot work
Whether a torch-down method will be used, which needs a $75 operational permit and a fire watch
The building permit has its own fee. Conshohocken’s residential building permit fee is $50 for work up to $1,000 plus $10 for each additional $1,000 or part of $1,000, according to the borough’s application.
Questions that separate the two
Ask for the price per square for materials and for labor, and for a line for each item in the table. A single lump sum hides which part changed between two quotes.
Ask how decayed sheathing will be priced, per sheet or per square foot, before tear-off begins. Under Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, any material change to the plans or specifications needs a written change order signed by both of you that states the price change.
Ask how long the price holds. From April to August, the producer index for these products has risen in every year since 2015, as the launch article shows.
If the contract adjusts the price with a published index, read the BLS guide on price adjustment clauses. It says producer price data are revised for up to four months after first publication, and it advises contracts to agree on the index, the base and comparison months, and the date the calculation will be made, using the latest data published as of that date.
What this guide leaves out
This guide gives no average cost for a roof in Conshohocken. A typical price depends on the roof’s size, type and condition, and the public sources this site uses do not publish one for the area. Compare written quotes for your own roof, line by line.