The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report shows that builders’ merchants’ value sales fell by 0.5% in Q4 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. While volume sales increased by 2.3%, a 2.7% drop in prices offset this growth. With one additional trading day in Q4 2024, like-for-like value sales—adjusted for trading days—were down 2.2%.
Moreover, from a full year perspective 2024 has seen a value decline of -4.1% against 2023.
Four out of twelve categories saw year-on-year growth, with Tools leading the way (+8.8%). However, the two largest categories, Timber & Joinery Products (-2.6%) and Heavy Building Materials (-0.2%), experienced declines. Renewables & Water Saving was the weakest-performing category, down 8.9%.
Compared to the previous quarter, builders’ merchants’ value sales in Q4 2024 fell by 13.9%. Volume sales dropped by 15.6%, while prices increased up by 2.0%. Only three categories recorded growth quarter-on-quarter: Plumbing Heating & Electrical (+2.7%), Workwear & Safetywear (+1.5%), and Renewables & Water Saving (+1.5%). Landscaping, a seasonal category, saw the sharpest decline (-30.9%). With four fewer trading days in Q4, like-for-like value sales were down 8.2%.
Ian Doherty, Chief Executive of Hexstone, and the Owlett-Jaton brand, commented in the report: “Demand in the fastener and fixings sector has continued to follow the general trends across merchants, with soft demand driven by the sluggish levels of construction and RM&I activity.”
He added: “Following the election of Donald Trump in the US, the tariff situation is changing rapidly. At the time of writing, the impacts of US tariffs on the supply chain are yet to be fully understood. Increased tariffs on Chinese products may result in some shifting of production to other Far East sources, which, in turn, may affect sourcing for the UK. Given the extended supply chains for Far East sourced fasteners and fixings, we remain confident that these potential disruptions will not lead to major problems for UK supply.”
