In South Florida wood-framed buildings are rare and most small buildings, e.g., houses, are made from concrete masonry units -- or at least that was the case when I left in 1984. "CBS" it used to be called: "concrete block structure".

South Florida is a different business environment and metal roofs are also not overly expensive there.

Sure, but it's specialized because not enough people do it, so not enough people know how to do it, so that's no explanation. You're basically saying "Americans don't build with brick because they don't build with brick".

It's the same phenomenon as in the Eastern Bloc countries, where the state subsidized prefab concrete construction and left the building trade to starve. The result was cheap housing for millions (sorely needed after the destructions of the War) and complete destruction of the construction trades.

That’s exactly what I’m saying. There’s a chicken and egg problem. Perhaps an entrepreneur could change things but I think you’d have to be ready to lose a lot of money before getting traction.