The second quarter of 2025 will likely be remembered for one word: tariffs. The announcement of Donald Trump’s wide ranging tariffs on the 2nd of April added yet another layer of uncertainty and complexity in what is turning out to be a very challenging decade across the world. Builders Merchants won’t be directly affected by tariffs as much, seeing that most products are sourced locally. It’s the impact on both the UK and global economy, and how this feeds through to the construction industry, that will be of most concern.
Within this context recent performance has been promising, with Q2 overall value up by 2.8% against 2024 Q2 and achieved with one less trading day. This was the second consecutive quarter of growth followed by consistent declines over more than two years. Volume was the key driver, increasing by 4.0%, while average pricing was down by -1.1%. These two consecutive quarters of growth has resulted in value growth of 1.9% for the first half of the year.
Heavy Building Materials growth has been in line with overall market performance, increasing by 2.7% in value against 2024 Q2. Volumes were up by 4.2%, with average price declining by 1.4%. Looking at the underlying data, both bricks and aggregates, and to a lesser extent insulation achieved noticeable volume growth. Aggregates had the largest impact on the average price decline, with the other two playing less of a role.
Timber & Joinery value was up by 3.7% against 2024 Q2, with volume up by 5.3%. Average pricing was down by -1.5% against 2024 Q2. Timber & Joinery benefitted from strong timber volume performance, while the average pricing decline was influenced by sheet materials. Cladding, even though it’s a noticeably smaller subcategory, stood out for strong volume performance in Q2.
Good weather conditions assisted Landscaping in being the second best performing category in Q2, with April and May generating the most value seen in the past two years. Value was up 5.9% against 2024 Q2 thanks to volume and average price growth of 4.8% and 1.1% respectively. Fencing & gates, as well as decking, stood out as the two best performing subcategories.
Renewables & Water Management was however the best performing category, seeing its value increase by 13.4% on the back of strong renewables & ventilation sales. Most of the other smaller categories saw growth, with only Decorating, Tools, and Kitchen & Bathrooms seeing value declines. These were down by -2.0%, -0.4% and -0.2% respectively.
The rest of the year brings uncertainty. While there has been cautious optimism around the sector, the reality and impact of economic pressures could erode expected growth for the remainder of 2025.
