February Builders Merchants’ value sales fall -2.7%. Volumes flat (-0.1%) as price drops -2.6%

The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report, published in April, shows builders’ merchants’ value sales in February were down -2.7% compared to the same month in 2024. Volume sales remain flat (-0.1%) while prices dropped -2.6%. With one less trading day in the most recent period, like-for-like sales were up +2.2%.

Year-on-year, just three categories sold more – Services (+3.0%), Tools (+2.6%) and Miscellaneous (+2.3%). Plumbing Heating & Electrical (-1.3%) and Heavy Building Materials (-1.6%) while still down, performed better than Total Merchants. Decorating (-6.4%) and Renewables & Water Saving (-6.6%) were the weakest categories.

Value sales in February were +4.4% higher than January. Month-on-month volume sales rose +8.0% and prices were down -3.4%. Nine of the twelve categories sold more, including three which did better than Total Builders Merchants – these were Landscaping (+15.1%), Services (+6.1%) and Heavy Building Materials (+5.4%). Workwear & Safetywear was the weakest category, down -8.3%. With two less trading days in February, like-for-like value sales were up +14.8%.

Total value sales in the period March 2024 to February 2025 were down -4.0% on the previous 12-month period (March 2023 to February 2024). Volume sales dropped -3.5% and prices slipped -0.4%. Four of the twelve categories sold more with Workwear & Safetywear (+6.8%) and Tools (+6.6%) ahead, followed by Services (+3.2%) and Miscellaneous (+0.2%). Timber & Joinery Products (-6.2%) and Heavy Building Materials (-4.8%) – the two largest categories – declined more than Total Merchants, while Renewables & Water Saving (-21.2%) was the weakest category.

For the year to date (January to February 2025), total value sales were -2.5% lower than the first two months of 2024.

Mike Rigby, Managing Director of MRA Research which produces the BMBI report says: “If we thought construction was over the worst of it – with Covid, the energy crisis and last year’s general election finally in the rearview mirror – Trump’s trade war has put us back in unchartered, uncertain territory. Are they for real, or just a violent negotiation tactic? The USA’s tariffs are causing havoc across the globe. The impact this will have on supply chains, material costs and the confidence of investors to press ‘go’ on new housing and infrastructure projects will likely unfold in the coming months.

“What consumers make of the events taking place on the world stage and how it affects demand for new housing and home improvements also remains to be seen. According to NIQ GfK’s long running consumer confidence index, expectations for the general economic situation over the coming 12 months was -29 in March, six points lower than March 2024. However, consumers’ views of their personal finances over the next 12 months are a positive +1, almost the same as a year ago (+2), with hopes kept alive no doubt by talk of interest rate cuts and the slashing of mortgage rates by UK lenders.

“An increase in demand from homebuyers would be a shot in the arm for housebuilding which is struggling to build up a head of steam. ONS figures suggest only 150,000 new homes are on track to be built in 2025. In her Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced £625 million to train 60,000 new construction workers to help boost output and benefit Builders’ Merchants and their supply chains. But this figure is just a quarter the number of skilled workers the Home Builders Federation estimates is necessary.

“The year 2025 is shaping up to be an interesting year, with growth potential dictated by the whims of The White House.”

Set up and run by MRA Research, the BMBI – a brand of the Builders Merchants Federation – is a monthly index of builders’ merchant sales, and the most reliable, up-to-date measure of Repair, Maintenance, and Improvement (RMI) activity in the UK. The index is based on actual sales from GfK’s Builders’ Merchant Point of Sale Tracking Data, which captures value sales out to builders from generalist builders’ merchants, accounting for 88% of total sales from builders’ merchants throughout Great Britain. An in-depth review, which includes commentary by sector experts, is provided each quarter.

February’s BMBI report is available to download at www.bmbi.co.uk.