Expert comments
The timber industry has seen a slowdown in demand over recent weeks – some describing it as a correction, others as a collapse – and it may be different in… Read more
Expert comments
The market for porcelain continues to grow, while sales of sandstone are still in decline. Good quality porcelain is now cheaper to buy than natural sandstone, so it’s an obvious… Read more
Expert comments
Research from The Pulse showed that a combination of factors including price increases, energy costs, and uncertainty about the war in Ukraine have all affected merchants’ confidence in the market…. Read more
Expert comments
Market demand for bricks and roof tiles continued to be very strong in the second quarter of 2022. Despite rising interest rates and inflation, the demand for new homes still… Read more
Expert comments
A few months back, in March, we began to see a slight easing in the constraints around material availability. But as we rolled into quarter two, mounting concerns over the… Read more
Expert comments
Quarter two 2022 followed the same strong pattern as quarter one. Strong in the sense of steady daily sales as compared to the madness of 2021. While demand is on… Read more
Expert comments
Product availability and supply improved rapidly during Q2, and demand has remained strong across the three principal sectors with which drylining systems are typically aligned (Residential, Commercial and RMI/ Change… Read more
Expert comments
These are uncertain times. Though UK GDP was surprisingly high in May, June’s Construction PMI fell to its lowest level since December 2020 – when the nation was in the… Read more
Expert comments
Q2 construction demand for mineral products was down on Q1, and Q2 2021. Q2 sales volumes of asphalt were down -6% compared to Q1, with ready-mix concrete down -7.4%, aggregates… Read more
Expert comments
For the first time since Q2 2020, it is beginning to feel like we have returned to pre-pandemic trading levels. This was expected after the last two years the industry… Read more
Launched in 2015, the award winning monthly Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report is the only reliable measure of repair, maintenance & improvement (RMI) activity in the UK. Filling an important gap, it can be widely used in construction, and by economists, Government, national media, commentators and influencers outside the industry.
