Tune in to the State of the Industry webinar on Feb. 3, 2010, at 2 p.m. Eastern time and get a preview of the results of our exclusive survey of contractors on their economic outlook for 2010 and beyond.

The survey, sponsored by GAF Materials Corporation, will show you how contractors fared in 2009, how they expect to do in 2010, and their outlook for the next three years. You’ll also get to see the contractors’ opinions on the key problems facing the industry and their advice on how to cope with them.

After an in-depth look at the survey data, Bob Tafaro, CEO of GAF Materials Corporation, and Paul Bromfield, Vice President of Marketing for GAF, will share their insights on the commercial and residential markets in the years ahead.

For more information on the webinar, visit this link: event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=184681&sessionid=1&key=296D00CCF3B57D7DF5A2D271C9BDFD14&partnerref=enews&sourcepage=register

The results of the survey will be published in our February issue, which will also include comments from leading manufacturers, distributors and contractors on the year ahead.

Rob McNamara, President of F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co., a Tecta America company, and President of the National Roofing Contractors Association, was kind enough to share his perspective on the market. “At this point, it seems many in our industry are just happy they survived 2009,” he said. “Beyond weathering the storm, it does not appear 2010 will offer a lot to celebrate right off the bat — however, it sure beats the cliff’s edge we at this time last year. I suspect key trends for the year will be a continued challenge in our industry’s supply-demand curve as the availability of projects remains tight. This is especially so considering we will not have the carryover of new construction projects as we had from 2008 into 2009. A greater percentage of work will continue to come from the public sector, though we are hopeful that roofing purse strings in the private sector will gradually loosen as confidence in the economy slowly builds. I feel we also may witness some ill effects due to the economic recovery we are seeing in other parts of the world, particularly Asia, translating into higher commodity input costs and resulting material price increases later this year.”

McNamara had this advice for contractors going into 2010: “At least until we see how the year unfolds, contractors need to continue to control costs wherever possible. Like it or not, the ‘Great Recession’ has triggered a reset in our economy and, as with just about anything else these days, it will be a good time to be a buyer of roofing projects in 2010.”

“Don’t lose sight of the importance of safety within your organization,” he concluded. “Over the past years, I feel our industry has made some great strides in treating our safety and claims experience like a profit center (not to mention the satisfaction that goes along with having our co-workers go home safely at day’s end). During tough economic times, and in the rush to meet very tight budgets, we can lose sight of the importance of safe work practices. Despite the times, rooftop safety remains a great cost-avoidance opportunity if we can keep our eye on the ball. Helps make spouses and kids happy too!”