Asphalt Shingle PPI Jumped 3.6% In A Single Month. Metal Roofing Is Up 60% Since 2025. The Federal Roof Tax Credit Died December 31. Oklahoma Just Reopened $10K Fortified Grants. Here Is The Roofer Winning July 2026.

The June 2026 asphalt shingle Producer Price Index just jumped 3.6% in a single month. 362.334 in May, 375.520 in June, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on July 15. That is not a chart wiggle. That is your material cost floor moving in one report by more than most roofers move in a year, and it is happening on top of a 10 to 18% cumulative increase already priced into 2026.

Metal roofing is up roughly 60% since 2025. Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum doubled from 25% to 50% in mid-2025, and every major manufacturer — GAF, Owens Corning, CertainTeed, IKO — ran a 6 to 10% price hike this year. Two of them. April and June. Overall construction input prices are up about 9 to 10% year over year.

The homeowner does not know any of that. All they see is a roof quote that is $2,500 higher than their neighbor got in 2023 and a question forming in their head: are you the honest one, or the storm chaser.

The federal tax credit is dead

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in 2025, terminated the Section 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025. If your sales team is still handing homeowners a printout that says “up to $600 federal tax credit for a qualifying metal or reflective roof,” throw it out today. That credit does not exist for 2026 installs.

Every quote that references it is now a compliance problem and a trust problem. The homeowner Googles the credit, sees it was terminated, and assumes everything else in your proposal is out of date too. You just lost a $14,000 job on a $600 mistake.

The grants and discounts that ARE real

Federal is out. State and insurance are in. And most homeowners do not know these programs exist unless you tell them.

• Oklahoma Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Grant. Reopened July 13, 2026 at oid.ok.gov/okread. Up to $10,000 to upgrade a roof to the IBHS Fortified Roof “High Wind” designation — built to withstand 130 mph winds and wind-driven rain. Program expanded statewide after Oklahoma City and Tulsa pilots. Homeowners who complete the upgrade become eligible for insurance premium discounts. Sell the upgrade, run the paperwork, own the customer.
• Alabama Fortified Roof grants. Similar structure. Alabama Department of Insurance has run one of the strongest grant + premium-discount programs in the country. Alabama roof average $17,803 in July 2026 — the grant is a real percentage of the job.
• South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina. All have Fortified-adjacent programs. Get on the state department of insurance mailing list. Every reopening is a Google search spike in your market.
• Class 4 impact-resistant shingle premium discounts. Middle Tennessee carriers are offering 20 to 30% homeowners insurance premium reductions on Class 4 systems that meet 2024 IRC requirements for Rutherford and Williamson counties. Similar programs exist in most hail-belt states.
• Texas HB 3344. As of June 2026, all Texas roofing contractors must be state-licensed by the TDLR. If you are licensed, that becomes an active differentiator against every unlicensed storm-chaser competing on your lawn.

The roofer winning July 2026

Three things separate the shop booking jobs from the shop being ghosted:

1. A CSR script that names the four cost drivers before the homeowner asks.

“I know this quote is higher than what you might have seen a few years ago. Here is what changed. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum doubled from 25% to 50% in mid-2025 — metal roofing is up roughly 60%. Asphalt shingles are up 10 to 18% this year because petroleum-based inputs are more expensive and GAF, Owens Corning, and CertainTeed raised prices twice in 2026. The federal Section 25C tax credit was terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on December 31, 2025 — some contractors are still advertising it, but it does not exist for 2026 installs. What DOES exist is [your state's Fortified grant, your carrier's Class 4 premium discount, financing options at 7 to 9% APR]. Want me to walk you through the numbers?”

2. A website page that ranks in AI Overviews.

Title: “Why Roofing Quotes Are Higher In 2026 — And What Grants Actually Apply In [City].” H2s should be the queries homeowners type: Why did my roof quote go up. Is the federal roof tax credit still available. What is a Fortified roof. How do I qualify for insurance premium discounts. Is metal or asphalt a better long-term value in 2026. Under each, a 40 to 80 word direct answer with specific numbers, dates, and state agency links. That is what an AI model quotes back.

3. A grants-and-financing intake form on the quote itself.

Every proposal should include a one-page “Available Programs In Your Zip Code” sheet. State grant, insurance premium discount, financing offers, warranty upgrades. Homeowner sees a $16,000 quote, then sees $6,000 in grants and discounts they did not know about. Suddenly the quote is $10,000 and they are asking when you can start.

The bottom line

Material costs went up 3.6% in a single month. Nobody is winning by pretending prices are lower than they are. The roofer taking market share in July 2026 is the one who names every cost driver by name, points the homeowner at every dollar of grant and discount they qualify for, and books the job on trust when the storm-chaser three doors down loses it on price. Handle the money conversation. Everything else falls in line.