The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report, published in July, shows builders’ merchants’ total 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%.

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.

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 up +1.4%, Decorating and Landscaping (both on +1.3%) and Renewables & Water Saving (+0.9%) ahead of the rest. Total Builders Merchants was ahead of the biggest category, Heavy Building Materials (-0.3%). There was no difference in trading days.

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 terms of 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.

Total value sales in the first five months of the year (January to May 2025), were +1.2% higher than the first five months of 2024.

Mike Rigby, Managing Director of MRA Research which produces the BMBI report says: “May hasn’t been a month for Merchants to write home about, with no change in value sales compared to weak May sales last year, or April this year. Where there were improvements in volume many were offset by a drop in prices leaving Builders’ Merchants treading water.

“The latest Homes England stats, published on 26 June, show there was an improvement in housebuilding starts (+5%) and completions (+12%) between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, compared to the previous year. But with just 38,000 new houses starting construction during that period, it’s clear that as we pass one year of Labour government, nothing much has changed with regards to injecting some oomph into housebuilding.

“Whether improvements are on the horizon remains to be seen, in what is turning out to be a particularly unpredictable year. Overall consumer confidence, as tracked by GfK’s long running index, shows a two-point increase in June to -18, following a three-point improvement in May. This upward trend could be a good omen for the RMI and housing markets, particularly as there was also a +5-point increase in how consumers see the economy shaping up over the next 12 months. Mortgage and remortgage approvals are on the up too.

“But, and currently there’s always a but, Inflation is stuck at 3.4%, partially due to higher food costs, so many households will still be feeling the pinch. With expected hikes in petrol prices later this year caused by conflict in the Middle East oil prices are likely to rise. That will put discretionary spend under pressure, pushing households to reassess their priorities with some postponing home improvement projects which will slow the flow of work in the pipeline for trades and merchants.”

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.