After a strong start to the year, the uncertain economic climate continued to impact negatively on merchants’ sales of Timber & Joinery into October 2019.

Year-on-Year

Total Builders Merchants’ value sales in October were down -4.4% compared with the same period in 2018, on an equal number of trading days. Categories showing a weaker performance year-on-year were Tools (-9.2%), Timber & Joinery (-7.2%), Landscaping (-5.4%) and Heavy Building Materials (-4.9%).

The best performing sectors in October were Workwear & Safetywear (+9.0%) and Kitchens & Bathrooms (+4.1%), with Plumbing, Heating & Electrical (+0.3%) also showing marginal growth.

Month-on-Month

The picture was more positive month-on-month. Total October 2019 sales were up by +6.0% compared with September. Most product categories saw relatively strong growth month-on-month, at least on an unadjusted basis, including Timber & Joinery (+6.8%) and Heavy Building Materials (+5.7%). However, when adjusted for the two-day trading difference, Total Builders’ Merchants’ sales were down by -3.2%.

Other periods

Sales in the rolling 12 months November 2018 to October 2019 were up +0.5% on the same period last year.

Index

October’s BMBI index was 126.0, with Plumbing, Heating & Electrical the highest at 141.5. The Timber & Joinery index for August was 127.4.