The latest Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index (PHMI) report, published in May, shows like-for-like Q1 2026 value sales, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days, were -0.1% lower than… Read more
The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report reveals builders’ merchants’ like-for-like value sales for Q1 2026, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days, were -3.2% lower than Q1… Read more
For decades, the construction industry has treated fragmentation, bringing multiple brands or parts together to create a full system of products, as standard procedure. However, the regulatory landscape of 2026… Read more
Quarter 1 2026 was phenomenal for paving sales, as merchants stocked up ahead of potential product shortages and price rises. Sandstone shortages was something I touched on in my previous… Read more
The UK market for both softwoods and engineered wood products has been subdued in Q1 2026. Merchant and distributor restocking in January generated volumes broadly in line with January 2025…. Read more
History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. So we’re reminded as global events again unsettle UK construction. Our industry is no stranger to disruption. Covid, the Ukraine war and the Evergrande… Read more
January and February were a wash out with prolonged heavy rain slowing site work in an already depressed market. However, in March the rain eased, sunshine appeared and volumes started… Read more
January and February were dominated by relentless rain, making it the wettest start to a year for decades. Construction suffered, with developers and main contractors finding it impossible, or at… Read more
Quarter one was tough for bagged cement and aggregate sales as weak construction and housebuilding activity, above average rainfall and the war in Iran affected supply and demand. The Mineral… Read more
It’s been a tough start to the year for Britain’s builders’ merchants. The war in the Middle East is seriously weakening the economy and interrupting global supply chains, and the… 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.
