The latest BMBI report shows builders’ merchants’ value sales in May were unchanged (0.0%) compared to May 2024. Year-on-year volumes rose +2.1% but prices fell -2.1%. With one less trading day in the most recent period, like-for-like value sales – which take trading day differences into account – were up +5.0%.
Year-on-Year
Looking at value sales by category, five of the twelve categories sold more compared to May last year. Renewables & Water Saving increased +23.4%, followed by Miscellaneous (+3.8%), Landscaping (+1.9%), Timber & Joinery Products (+1.4%) and Services (+1.0%). The largest category, Heavy Building Materials, sold -0.4% less while Workwear & Safetywear (-7.0%) was weakest.
Month-on-Month
Value sales in May were unchanged (0.0%) compared to the previous month’s sales. Month-on-month, volume sales were up +1.0% but prices slipped -1.0%. Value sales for four categories were up compared to April, with Timber & Joinery Products (+1.4%), Decorating and Landscaping (both on +1.3%) and Renewables & Water Saving (+0.9%) ahead of the rest. The biggest category, Heavy Building Materials was down -0.3%. There was no difference in trading days.
Latest 12 months
Total value sales in the 12 months June 2024 – May 2025 were down -1.8% on the previous 12-month period (June 2023 – May 2024). Volume sales were -0.6% lower, and prices were down -1.2%. Five of the twelve categories sold more in value sales with Tools (+4.4%) up the most, followed by Services (+3.7%), Workwear & Safetywear (+3.3%), Miscellaneous (+1.1%) and seasonal category, Landscaping (+0.6%). Both the two largest categories, Timber & Joinery Products (-3.5%) and Heavy Building Materials (-2.0%), declined. Renewables & Water Saving (-11.7%) was the weakest category.
Ian Doherty, Non-Executive Director of Hexstone, and the Owlett-Jaton brand, and BMBI’s Expert for Fasteners & Fixings, comments:
“Demand in the fastener and fixings sector has continued to follow the general trends across merchants, with continuing soft demand driven by the sluggish levels of construction and RM&I activity. Supplies continue to be stable both in terms of availability and pricing.
“The government’s much vaunted commitment to build 1.5m new homes by 2029 continues to make headline news, but the reality on the ground is we are yet to see a step change in the rate of new build construction.
“The fastener and fixings sector supply chain is heavily driven by Far East sourcing and, as a result, can be slow to respond to sudden and dramatic upturns in demand. However, the sector generally carries many months of stock and it is anticipated that the expected upturn can be accommodated by suppliers. A return to Far East shipping using the Suez Canal rather than the Cape of Good Hope route would further improve resilience in the event of a surge in demand.
Tariff situation
“The US tariff situation continues to change frequently. At the time of writing, the impacts of US tariffs on Chinese products have yet to result in any noticeable knock-on effects on the UK supply chain. The situation continues to be closely monitored.
“Government consultation is continuing on the planned Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) for the UK. Legislation is now being prepared and the planned introduction date of January 2027 now seems fairly certain.
“This measure, while positive from an environmental perspective, will result in higher costs for fasteners and fixings imported from the Far East. How large the impact will be is uncertain, and will only become clear once the legislation is published, but double-digit increases seem likely.”
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