Without question, the steel industry has been hit hard by the economic downturn. Industry experts report domestic steel production has declined 50 percent since September. While efforts are under way to fund public infrastructure projects in an attempt to bolster the market, it’s important to remember there is one ongoing program already creating demand for steel. It’s up and running and has a proven track record of success. The program is the Metal Roofing Alliance.

For a little more than a decade, the MRA has successfully promoted residential metal roofing to consumers and contractors. The MRA has created a market that didn’t exist 10 years ago and has educated homeowners and contractors about the many benefits of residential metal roofing. The program has generated hundreds of thousands of consumer leads for contractor follow-up. In fact, the MRA’s consistent national marketing program is one of the few actually creating demand for steel.

According to a 2008 study performed by McGraw-Hill Construction and Analytics, metal roofing now represents 11 percent of the re-roofing market. When MRA began its national marketing campaign in 1998, metal only comprised 4 percent of the market. The survey findings also projected residential metal roofing demand would increase to 1.4 million squares for new construction in 2009 and 13.4 million squares for repair and remodeling. That’s a lot steel and tremendous market share growth in a short time.

“We’ve all seen declining home values and when a consumer is faced with the need to re-roof their home, it makes sense to go with the roof that adds value and other benefits to the home,” says Todd Miller, president of Classic Products and a founding member of the MRA. “The MRA has done a terrific job of promoting the concept of ‘investment grade roofing.’  Consumers understand the value of investing in a long-term solution.”

It’s important to remember the residential metal roofing industry takes its market share from competing products, such as asphalt shingles and concrete tiles. As a result, all the growth spurred by the MRA represents new opportunities and new revenue streams for all the companies involved in the product, from manufacturers and coil coaters to the contractors who install the metal roofs.

For the past decade the MRA has focused on the replacement market, not new construction. We’ve always recognized the potential for growth would come from existing homes. As a result, our integrated marketing efforts have targeted homeowners who are re-roofing their homes. Roofing is a need, not a want. Good economy or bad, when a homeowner has a leaking roof, it needs to be addressed.

“Without question, the MRA program has been a huge success and all indicators point to continued growth in the re-roof market,” says Tom Black, executive director of the MRA. “Because the real estate market is soft right now, many homeowners have been forced to put off selling their homes. When a home-owner makes the decision to stay, renovation and improvement projects take center stage. A homeowner can wait to update a kitchen; they can’t put off replacing a damaged or leaking roof.”

In these tough economic times, every penny counts. Homeowners invest in their homes and they’re looking for products that will offer the best value. “To take advantage of this opportunity the MRA is continuing its strong online, public relations and advertising program,” says Black.  “In fact we will be launching a 22-week consumer television initiative in April on major cable and satellite networks. With added funding we believe that significant market share growth is possible in this replacement market category during 2009 and beyond. Now is not the time to pull back from attacking the market.”

For more information about the Metal Roofing Alliance program, please visit www.metalroofing.com.

Bill Hippard is the president of the MRA and vice president of sales at Precoat Metals.