Quanex was incorporated in Delaware on December 12, 2007, as Quanex Building Products Corporation. We manufacture components for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in the building products industry. These components can be categorized as window and door (fenestration) components and kitchen and bath cabinet components. Examples of fenestration components include (1) energy-efficient flexible insulating glass spacers, (2) extruded vinyl profiles, (3) window and door screens, and (4) precision-formed metal and wood products. In addition, we provide certain other non-fenestration components and products, which include solar panel sealants, trim moldings, vinyl decking, vinyl fencing, water retention barriers, and conservatory roof components. We use low-cost production processes and engineering expertise to provide our customers with specialized products for their specific window, door, and cabinet applications. We believe these capabilities provide us with unique competitive advantages. We serve a primary customer base in North America and the United Kingdom (U.K.), and also serve customers in international markets through our operating plants in the United KingdomU.K. and Germany, as well as through sales and marketing efforts in other countries.

Our predecessor company, Quanex Corporation, was organized in Michigan in 1927 as Michigan Seamless Tube Company, and was later reincorporated in Delaware in 1968. In 1977, Michigan Seamless Tube Company changed its name to Quanex Corporation. On December 12, 2007, Quanex Building Products Corporation was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary in the state of Delaware, in order to facilitate the separation of Quanex Corporation's vehicular products and building products businesses. This separation became effective on April 23, 2008, through a spin-off of the building products business to Quanex Corporation's then-existing shareholders. Immediately following the spin-off, our former parent company, consisting principally of the vehicular products business and all non-building products related corporate accounts, merged with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gerdau S.A.

Since the spin-off in 2008, we have evolved our business by making investments in organic growth initiatives and taking a disciplined approach to new business and strategic acquisition opportunities, while disposing of non-core businesses.

Our business is largely based in North American basedAmerica and dependent upon the spending and growth activity levels of our customers which include national and regional residential window, door and cabinet manufacturers. Our international presence includes vinyl extruded lineals for large house systems to smaller customers primarilyindividual customers. We also have insulating glass businesses in the United Kingdom, as well as our insulating glass business in the United KingdomU.K. and Germany.

We use data related to housing starts and window shipments in the United States,U.S., as published by or derived from third-party sources, to evaluate the fenestration market in these countries.market. We also use data related to cabinet demand in the United StatesU.S. to evaluate the residential cabinet market.

The following table presents calendar-year annual housing starts information as of October 2018, as published by the United States Census Bureau based on data collectedNovember 2021 from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), (units in thousands):

We have noted the following trends which we believe affect our industry:

Our vision is to be the preferred supplier to our customers in each market we serve. Our strategy to achieve this vision includes the following:

We believe our strengths include design expertise, new technology development capability, high quality manufacturing, just-in-time delivery systems, customer service and the ability to generate unique patented products and participation in industry advocacy.products.

Our products are sold under highly competitive conditions. We compete with a number of companies, some of which have greater financial resources than us. We believe the primary competitive factors in the markets we serve include price, product quality, delivery and the ability to manufacture to customer specifications. The volume of engineered building products that we manufacture represents a small percentage of annual domestic consumption. Similarly, our subsidiaries in the United KingdomU.K. compete against some larger vinyl producers and smaller window manufacturers. For our kitchen and bathroom cabinet door business, we believe we are the largest supplier to OEMs in the United States,U.S., but we compete with other national and regional businesses, including OEMs who are vertically integrated.

We sell our products to customers in various countries. Therefore, we have sales representatives whose territories essentially cover the United States,U.S., Canada, Europe, and to a lesser extent, the Middle East, Latin and South America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Our sales force is tasked with selling and marketing our complete range of components, products and systems to national and regional OEMs through a direct sales force in North America and Europe, supplemented with the limited use of distributors and independent sales agents. 

Certain of our businesses or product lines are largely dependent on a relatively few large customers. See Note 1, "Nature“Nature of Operations, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies - Concentration of Credit Risk and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts,"Credit Losses,” of the accompanying financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for related disclosure.

Our business is impacted by seasonality. We have historically experienced lower sales for our products during the first half of our fiscal year as winter weather reduces homebuilding and home improvement activity. Our operating income tends to decline during this period of lower sales because a higher percentage of our operating expenses are fixed overhead. We typically experience more favorable results in the third and fourth quarters of the fiscal year. Our exposure to seasonality was somewhat tempered with the entry into the kitchen and bathroom cabinet door industry, which is focused "inside the house" and less susceptible to inclement weather. Expenses for labor and other costs are generally semi-variable throughout the year.

We fund operations through a combination of available cash and cash equivalents, cash flow generated from our operations, and borrowings from our revolving credit facility. We extend credit to our domestic customers in the ordinary course of business generally for a term of 30 days, while the terms for our international customers vary from cash advances to 90 days. Inventories of raw materials are carried in quantities deemed necessary to ensure a smooth production process, some of which are governed by consignment agreements with suppliers. We strive to maintain minimal finished goods inventories, while ensuring an adequate supply on hand to service customer needs.

Our federally registered trademarks or service marks include QUANEX, QUANEX and design, "Q"“Q” design, TRUSEAL TECHNOLOGIES, DURASEAL, DURALITE, SOLARGAIN, EDGE TAPE, ENVIROSEALED WINDOWS, EDGETHERM, COLONIAL CRAFT, EDGETECH, ECOBLEND, SUPER SPACER, TSS, TRUE WARM, E & Design, QUIET EDGE, HEALTH SMART WINDOWS, ENERGY WISE WINDOWS, DESI-ROPE, 360 and design, INTELLICLIP, SUSTAINAVIEW, MIKRON, MIKRONWOOD, MIKRONBLEND, MIKRON BLEND and design, ENERGYCORE, FUSION INSULATED SYSTEM, AIRCELL, SUPERCOAT, SUPERCAP, STYLELOCK, STYLELOCK and design, K2 MIKRON and design, HOMESHIELD, HOMESHIELD and design, STORM SEAL, and TENON. We consider the following marks, design marks and associated trade names to be valuable in the conduct of our business: HOMESHIELD, COLONIAL CRAFT, TRUSEAL TECHNOLOGIES, EDGETECH, MIKRON,

We are subject to extensive laws and regulations concerning worker safety, the discharge of materials into the environment and the remediation of chemical contamination. To satisfy such requirements, we must make capital and other expenditures on an on-goingongoing basis. The cost of worker safety and environmental matters has not had a material adverse effect on our operations or financial condition in the past, and we are not currently aware of any existing conditions that we believe are likely to have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial condition, or cash flows.

For many years, we have maintained compliance policies that are designed to help protect our workforce, to identify and reduce the potential for job-related accidents, and to minimize liabilities and other financial impacts related to worker safety and environmental issues. These policies include extensive employee training and education, as well as internal policies embodied in our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. We have a Director of Environmental, Health and Safety and maintain a company-wide committee, comprising leaders from across the organization, which meets regularly to discuss safety issues and drive safety improvements. We plan to continue to focus on safety in particular as a core strategy to improve our operational efficiency and financial performance.

Under applicable state and federal laws, we may be responsible for, among other things, all or part of the costs required to remove or remediate wastes or hazardous substances at locations we, or our predecessors, have owned or operated. From time to time, we also have been alleged to be liable for all or part of the costs incurred to clean up third-party sites where there might have been an alleged improper disposal of hazardous substances. At present, we are not involved in any such matters.

From time to time, we incur routine expenses and capital expenditures associated with compliance with existing environmental regulations, including control of air emissions and water discharges, and plant decommissioning costs. We have not incurred any material expenses or capital expenditures related to environmental matters during the past three fiscal years, and do not expect to incur a material amount of such costs in fiscal 2019.2022. While we will continue to have future expenditures related to environmental matters, any such amounts are impossible to reasonably estimate at this time. Based upon our experience to date, we do not believe that our compliance with environmental requirements will have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial condition or cash flows.

The primary drivers of our business are residential remodeling, replacement activities and housing starts. The home building and residential construction industry is cyclical and seasonal, and product demand is based on numerous factors such as interest rates, general economic conditions, consumer confidence and other factors beyond our control. Declines in the number of housing starts and remodeling expenditures resulting from such factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We purchase from outside sources significant amounts of raw materials, such as butyl, titanium dioxide, vinyl resin, aluminum, steel, silicone and wood products for use in our manufacturing facilities. Because we do not have long-term contracts for the supply of many of our raw materials, their availability and price are subject to market fluctuation and may be subject to curtailment or change. Any of these factors could affect our ability to timely and cost-effectively manufacture products for our customers.

We are subject to extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations concerning the discharge of materials into the environment and the prevention and/or remediation of chemical contamination. To satisfy such requirements, we must make capital and other expenditures on an on-goingongoing basis. Future expenditures relating to environmental matters will necessarily depend upon whether such regulations and future governmental decisions or interpretations of these regulations apply to us and our facilities. It is likely that we will be subject to increasingly stringent environmental standards, and we will incur additional expenditures to comply with such standards. Furthermore, if we fail to comply with applicable environmental regulations, we could be subject to substantial fines or penalties and to civil and criminal liability.

We rely on a combination of copyright, patent, trade secrets, confidentiality procedures and contractual commitments to protect our proprietary information. However, these measures can only provide limited protection and unauthorized third parties may try to copy or reverse engineer portions of our products or may otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property. If we cannot protect our proprietary information against unauthorized use, we may not be able to retain a perceived competitive advantage and we may lose sales to the infringing sellers, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our business may be materially impacted by various governmental laws, regulations and initiatives that may artificially create, deflate, accelerate, or decelerate consumer demand for our products. For example, when the government issues tax credits designed to encourage increased homebuilding or energy-efficient window purchases, the credits may create a spike in demand that would not otherwise have occurred and our production capabilities may not be able to keep pace, which could materially impact our profitability. Likewise, when such laws, regulations or initiatives expire, our business may experience a material loss in sales volume or an increase in production costs as a result of the decline in consumer demand.

Our international operations require us to comply with a number of United StatesU.S. and international regulations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the United Kingdom Bribery Act 2010. While we have implemented appropriate training and compliance programs to prevent violations of these anti-bribery regulations, we cannot ensure that our policies, procedures and programs will always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. Allegations of violations of applicable anti-corruption laws, may result in internal, independent, or government investigations, and violations of anti-corruption laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions or other liabilities which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated results of operations and financial condition.

We have operations located within the United Kingdom (UK)U.K., and as such, our business and financial results may be negatively impacted as a result of the UK's planned exit from the European Union (EU),Brexit, resulting primarily from (a) continued depression in the value of the British Pound Sterling as compared to the United States Dollar; and (b) potential price increases foror unavailability of supplies purchased by our UKU.K. businesses from companies located in the EUE.U. or elsewhere. These risks would be heightened in the event that the UK and the EU are unable to reach a mutually satisfactory exit agreement before the current deadline of March 29, 2019.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to effectively monitor our business, prevent fraud or theft, remain in compliance with our credit facility covenants, and provide reliable financial reports, both to the public and to our lenders. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, both in accordance with current standards and as standards are modified over time, we could trigger an event of default under our credit facilities or lose the confidence of the investing community, both of which could result in a material adverse effect on our stock price, limit our ability to borrow funds, or result in the application of unfavorable commercial terms to borrowings then outstanding.

We currently source a number of raw materials from international suppliers. Import tariffs, taxes, customs duties and/or other trading regulations imposed by the United StatesU.S. government on foreign countries, or by foreign countries on the United States,U.S., could significantly increase the prices we pay for certain raw materials, such as aluminum and wood, that are critical to our ability to manufacture our products. In addition, we may be unable to find a domestic supplier to provide the necessary raw materials on an economical basis in the amounts we require. If the cost of our raw materials increases, or if we are unable to procure the necessary raw materials required to manufacture our products, then we could experience a negative impact on our operating results, profitability, customer relationships and future cash flows.

Our primary customers are OEMs, who have substantial leverage in setting purchasing and payment terms. In addition, many of our suppliers are large international conglomerates with numerous customers that are much larger than us, which lessens our leverage in pricing and supply negotiations. We attempt to manage this pricing pressure and to preserve our business relationships with suppliers and OEMs by negotiating reasonable price concessions when needed, and by reducing our production costs through various measures, which may include managing our purchase process to control the cost of our raw materials and components, maintaining multiple supply sources where possible, and implementing cost-effective process improvements. However, our efforts in this regard may not be successful and our operating margins could be negatively impacted.

Certain of our businesses or product lines are largely dependent on a relatively few large customers. For example, the revenues of our United States vinyl business declined significantly in 2017 as a result of shedding less profitable business with one such OEM. Although we believe we have an extensive customer base, if we were to lose one of these large customers or if one such customer were to materially reduce its purchases as a result of vertical integration, supplier diversification, or a shift in regional focus, our revenue, general financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We cannot provide assurance that we will successfully manage or integrate acquisition targets once we have purchased them.  If we acquire a business for which we do not fully understand or appreciate the specific business risks, if we overvalue or fail to conduct effective due diligence on an acquisition, or if we fail to effectively and efficiently integrate a business that we acquire, then there could be a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve the projected growth and cash flow goals associated with the new business, which could result in an overall material adverse effect on our long-term profitability or revenue generation.

The failure of our information technology systems, our inability to successfully maintain, enhance and/or replace our information technology systems when necessary, or a significant compromise of the integrity or security of the data that is generated from our information technology systems, could adversely affect our results of operations and could disrupt business and prevent or severely limit our ability to respond to data requests from our customers, suppliers, auditors, shareholders, employees or government authorities.

We operate in some rural areas and small towns where the competition for labor can be fierce, and where the pool of qualified employees may be very small. If we are unable to obtain or retain skilled workers and adequately trained professionals to conduct our business, we may not be able to manage our business to the necessary high standards. In addition, we may be forced to pay higher wages or offer other benefits that might impact our cost of labor and thereby negatively impact our profitability.

An interruption in production capabilities at any of our facilities due to equipment failure, catastrophic loss, or other reasons could result in our inability to manufacture products, which could severely affect delivery times, return or cancellation rates, and future sales, any of which could result in lower sales and earnings or the loss of customers. Although we have a disaster recovery plan in place, we currently have one plant which is the sole source for our insulating glass spacer business in the United States.U.S. If that plant were to experience a catastrophic loss and our disaster recovery plan were to fail, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

We have, on occasion, found flaws and deficiencies in the manufacturing, design, testing or installation of our products, which may result from a product defect, a defect in a component part provided by our suppliers, or as a result of the product being installed incorrectly by our customer or an end user. The failure of products before or after installation could result in litigation or claims by our customers or other users of the products, or in the expenditure of costs related to warranty coverage, claim settlement, litigation, or customer accommodation. In addition, we are currently party to certain legal claims related to a commercial sealant product, and there is no assurance that we will prevail on those claims. We may be required to expend legal fees, expert costs, and other costs associated with defending the claims and/or lawsuits. We may elect to enter into legal settlements or be forced to pay any judgments that result from an adverse court decision. Any such settlements, judgments, fees and/or costs could negatively impact our profitability, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

While we maintain a robust insurance program that is reasonably designed to cover our known and unknown risks, there is no assurance that our insurance carriers will voluntarily agree to cover every potential liability, or that our insurance policies include limits largehigh enough to cover all liabilities associated with our business or products. In addition, coverage under our insurance policies may be unavailable in the future for certain products. For example, during a prior renewal of our insurance program, our insurance carriers excluded future coverage of a product line we no longer manufacture or sell. If our insurers refuse to cover claims, in whole or in part, or if we exhaust our available insurance coverage at some point in the future, then we might be forced to expend legal fees and settlement or judgment costs, which could negatively impact our profitability, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without the consent of our Board of Directors. These provisions include restrictions on the ability of our stockholders to remove directors and supermajority voting requirements for stockholders to amend our organizational documents and limitations on action by our stockholders by written consent. In addition, our Board of Directors has the right to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could be used to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer. Although we believe these provisions protect our stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics, and thereby provide for an opportunity for us to receive a higher bid by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with our Board of Directors, these provisions apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders.

None.

In addition to the locations identified above, our North American Fenestration Segment maintains 13 additional facilities for the manufacture and distribution of fenestration, spacer and extrusion products within the continental U.S., our European Fenestration Segment maintains one additional location for the production of spacer in Yakima, Washington, which will expire in 2021, relatedthe U.K., and our North American Cabinet Components Segment maintains 10 locations to a location which was closed as a result of restructuring activities.manufacture hardwood doors and other wood components for kitchen and bath cabinets. See Note 1, "Nature“Nature of Operations, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies - Restructuring"Restructuring,” to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We believe our operating properties are in good condition and well maintained, and are generally suitable and adequate to carry on our business. In fiscal 2018,2021, on a consolidated basis, our facilities operated at approximately 59%62% of machine capacity. This capacity utilization is subject to variability by product line, seasonality, and location.

From time to time, we, along with our subsidiaries, are involved in various litigation matters arising in the ordinary course of our business, including those arising from or related to contractual matters, commercial disputes, intellectual property, personal injury, environmental matters, product performance or warranties, product liability, insurance coverage and personnel and employment disputes.

We regularly review with legal counsel the status of all ongoing proceedings, and we maintain insurance against these risks to the extent deemed prudent by our management and to the extent such insurance is available. However, there is no assurance that we will prevail in these matters or that our insurers will accept full coverage of these matters, and we could, in the future, incur judgments, enter into settlements of claims, or revise our expectations regarding the outcome or insurability of matters we face, which could materially impact our results of operations.

We have been and are currently party to multiple claims, some of which are in litigation, relating to alleged defects in a commercial sealant product that was manufactured and sold during the 2000's. Several claims were resolved during fiscal 20172019, 2020 and 2018,2021, and we continue to defend the remaining claims. While we believe that our product was not defective and that we would prevail in these commercial sealant product claims if taken to trial, the timing, ultimate resolution and potential impact of these claims is not currently determinable. Nevertheless, after taking into account all currently available information, including our defenses, the advice of our counsel, and the extent and currently-expected availability of our existing insurance coverage, we believe that the eventual outcome of these commercial sealant claims will not have a material adverse effect on our overall financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, and we have not recorded any accrual with regard to these claims.

We reserve for litigation loss contingencies that are both probable and reasonably estimable. We do not expect that losses resulting from any current legal proceedings will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements if or when such losses are incurred.

Not Applicable.

Set forth below is a table summarizing the program and the repurchase of shares during the quarter ended October 31, 2018.2021.

The following chart represents a comparison of the five year total return of our common stock to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500)500 Index), the Russell 2000 Index, and a peer group index selected by us, which includes companies offering similar products and services to ours. Following our execution of various strategic initiatives, we made a change to our peer group index for the year ended October 31, 2018 in order to ensure that it continues to reflect an appropriate comparison to our business. To that end, we added Insteel Industries Inc. to the peer group. As such, theThe companies in our peer group for the year ended October 31, 20182021 are AAON Inc., American Woodmark Corp, Apogee Enterprises Inc., ContinentalArmstrong Flooring Inc., Cornerstone Building ProductsBrands Inc., CSW Industrials Inc., Gibraltar Industries Inc., Griffon Corporation, LCI Industries, Insteel Industries Inc., Louisiana-Pacific Corp.,L.B. Foster Company, Masonite International NCI Building SystemsCorp, Mueller Water Products, Inc., Patrick Industries Inc., PGT Innovations, Inc., Ply Gem Holdings Inc., Simpson Manufacturing Company Inc., and Trex Company Inc., and Universal Forest Products Inc.

We manufacture components for original equipment manufacturers in the building products industry. These components can be categorized as window and door (fenestration) components and kitchen and bath cabinet components. Examples of fenestration components include (1) energy-efficient flexible insulating glass spacers, (2) extruded vinyl profiles, (3) window and door screens, and (4) precision-formed metal and wood products. In addition, we provide certain other non-fenestration components and products, which include solar panel sealants, trim moldings, vinyl decking, vinyl fencing, water retention barriers, and conservatory roof components. We use low-cost production processes and engineering expertise to provide our customers with specialized products for their specific window, door, and cabinet applications. We believe these capabilities provide us with unique competitive advantages. We serve a primary customer base in North America and the United Kingdom,U.K., and also serve customers in international markets through our operating plants in the United KingdomU.K. and Germany, as well as through sales and marketing efforts in other countries.

We continue to invest in organic growth initiatives and have completed several targeted business acquisitions in recent years. Wewe intend to continue to pursueevaluating business acquisitions that allow us to expand our existing fenestration and cabinet component footprint, enhance our product offerings, provide new complementary technology, enhance our leadership position within the markets we serve, and expand into new markets or service lines. We have disposed of non-core businesses in the past, and continue to evaluate our business portfolio to ensure that we are investing in markets where we believe there is potential future growth.

We currently have three reportable business segments: (1) North American Engineered ComponentsFenestration segment (“NA Engineered Components”Fenestration”), comprising fourthree operating segments, primarily focused on the fenestration market in North America manufacturing vinyl profiles, IG spacers, screens &and other fenestration components; (2) European Engineered ComponentsFenestration segment (“EU Engineered Components”Fenestration”), comprising our United Kingdom-basedU.K.-based vinyl extrusion business, manufacturing vinyl profiles and conservatories, and the European insulating glass business manufacturing IG spacers; and (3) North American Cabinet Components segment (“NA Cabinet Components”), comprising theour North American cabinet door and components business acquired in November 2015 and two wood-manufacturing plants. We maintain a grouping called Unallocated Corporate & Other, which includes transaction expenses, stock-based compensation, long-term incentive awards based on the performance of our common stock and other factors, certain severance and legal costs not deemed to be allocable to all segments, depreciation of corporate assets, interest expense, other, net, income taxes and inter-segment eliminations, and beginning in 2018, executive incentive compensation and medical expense fluctuations relative to planned costs as determined during the annual planning process. Other corporate general and administrative costs have been allocated to the reportable business segments, based upon a relative measure of profitability in order to more accurately reflect each reportable business segment's administrative costs. We allocate corporate expenses to businesses acquired mid-year from the date of acquisition. No change in historical corporate expense allocation has been made to reflect the plant moves noted above as the impact would not have been significant. The accounting policies of our operating segments are the same as those used to prepare our accompanying consolidated financial statements. Corporate general and administrative expenses allocated during the years ended October 31, 2018, 20172021, 2020 and 20162019 were $18.7$21.6 million, $17.0$21.7 million and $19.1$18.3 million, respectively.

On February 20, 2017, we entered intoMarch 11, 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of COVID-19 to be a $16.6 million capital lease arrangementglobal pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures. Our first priority with a related party to purchase a new manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom, as further described in Note 8, "Debt and Capital Lease Obligations,"regard to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained elsewhere herein.COVID-19 pandemic is to do everything we can to ensure the safety, health and welfare of our employees, customers, suppliers and other partners. With the implementation of health and safety practices at our facilities, we are continuing to supply the industry during this uncertain time, recognizing the essential role the construction industry plays in providing housing and necessary infrastructure.

We believe the primary drivers of our operating results continue to be North American residential remodeling and replacement (R&R) and new home construction activity. We believe that housing starts and window shipments are indicators of activity levels in the homebuilding and window industries, and we use this data, as published by or derived from third-party sources, to evaluate the market. We have historically evaluated the market using data from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) with regard to housing starts, and published reports by Ducker Worldwide, LLC (Ducker), a consulting and research firm, with regard to window shipments. These sources generally provide information about activity levels in the United States.

Our HLPU.K. vinyl business (commonly referred to as “Liniar”) is largely focused on the sale of vinyl house systems under the trade name “Liniar” to smaller window manufacturers in the United Kingdom. HLPU.K. Liniar is one of the larger providers of vinyl extruded products in the United KingdomU.K. in terms of volume shipped. Currently, the United KingdomU.K. is experiencing a shortage in affordable housing, with rising demand due in part to a growing immigrant population. HLP’sLiniar’s current primary customers are smaller window fabricators, as opposed to the larger OEMs that comprise a large portion of the North American market. These manufacturers seek the quality and technology of the specific products identified by the Liniar trade name. In addition, HLPLiniar services non-fenestration markets including the manufacture of roofing for conservatories, vinyl decking and vinyl water retention barriers used for landscaping. We believe there are growth opportunities within these markets in the United KingdomU.K. and potential synergies which may enable us to sell complementary products.

WoodcraftNA Cabinet Components manufactures kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors and components, amongst other products, using a variety of woods from traditional hardwoods to engineered wood products. Currently, Woodcraft sells allmost of its productsthe revenue in the United States,NA Cabinet Components is earned in the U.S., so domestic housing starts and R&R activity constitute the primary drivers of this business as well. We also utilize industry publications to evaluate the wood markets and commodity trends. Although NAHB forecasts indicate expected continued growth in the United States housing market, much of this anticipated growth is in new construction for multi-family dwellings, or rental properties, which is not the primary market for Woodcraft’s products. In recent years, forecasts project increased growth in single family homes. The cabinet door market is stratified as follows: stock (low-cost, low-variations), semi-custom (more customized, just-in-time manufacturing, higher price point) and custom (precise customer specifications, just-in-time manufacturing, high-end price point). Woodcraft'sNA Cabinet Component's primary market is semi-custom.

Our business is seasonal, particularly our fenestration business, as inclement weather during the winter months tends to slow down construction, particularly as related to “outside of the house” construction. To some extent, we believe our kitchen

We are impacted by regulation of energy standards. Although the United StatesU.S. government has been less aggressively pursuing higher energy efficiency standards in recent years, other countries have implemented higher energy efficiency standards which should bode well for our fenestration-related business in these markets, particularly our warm-edge spacer products.

We utilize severalSeveral commodities in our business for whichare subject to pricing can fluctuate,fluctuations, including polyvinyl resin (PVC), titanium dioxide (TiO2), petroleum products, aluminum titanium dioxide (TIO2), silicone and wood. For the majority of our customers and critical suppliers, we have price adjusters in place which effectively share the base pass-through price changes for theseour primary commodities with our customers commensurate with the market at large. Our long-term exposure to these price fluctuations is somewhat mitigated due to the contractual component of the adjuster program. However, these adjusters are not in place with all customers and for all commodities, and there is a level of exposure to such volatility due to the lag associated with the timing of price updates in accordance with our customer agreements.

The global economy remains uncertain due to global supply chain interruptions, inflationary pressures, currency devaluations, political unrest, terror threats, global pandemics such as COVID-19, and even the political landscape in the United States.U.S. These and other macro-economic factors have impacted the global financial markets, which may have contributed to significant changes in foreign currencies. We continue to monitor our exposure to changes in exchange rates.

Our year-over-year results by reportable segment follow. Our comparison of the results for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2020 and 2019 by reportable segment for the prior year comparative periods can be found in the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2020.