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Market Data
Q2 Merchant sales down-1.2 % year-onyear. Prices rise + 5.8 %. Volumes fall-6.6 %.
THE latest Builders Merchant Building Index( BMBI) report reveals builders’ merchants’ Q2 2026 like-for-like value sales, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days,-1.2 % lower than Q2 2025. Like-for-like volume sales were down-6.6 %, but prices increased + 5.8 %.
With no difference in trading days, unadjusted Q2 total value sales were also down-1.2 % year-on-year. By value, only three of the twelve categories sold more: Services(+ 7.3 %), Workwear & Safetywear(+ 4.5 %) and Miscellaneous(+ 2.3 %). Of the two largest categories, Heavy Building Materials fell-2.6 %, while Timber & Joinery Products was flat( 0.0 %). Renewables & Water Saving(-3.8 %) was the weakest category.
In the 12 months July 2025 to June 2026, like-for-like value sales were down-1.5 % compared to the previous 12-months( July 2024 to June 2025). Like-for-like volume sales were down-4.3 % but prices increased + 2.9 %.
Mike Rigby, MD of MRA Research who produce this report, says:“ Overall construction output is anaemic, as the latest ONS data reveals a + 0.3 % increase in Q2 output compared to Q1 but-2.0 % lower than Q2 2025. Five out of the nine construction sectors grew in Q2 2026 with infrastructure new work, the strongest up, + 1.9 %.
“ Despite monthly construction output falling-0.1 % in June, following a decrease of-0.8 % in May, and a decrease of-0.1 % in April, the overall level of output in Q2 was higher than in Q1, the ONS says, because the fall in April 2026 followed a particularly strong March.
“ Housebuilding continues to meet significant headwinds. The latest National House Building Council( NHBC) numbers put Q2 new home registrations down-4.0 % year-on-year, with cost pressures and geopolitical uncertainty affecting house builders’ performance. The prolonged dry weather has also thrown a new issue into the mix- water. Analysis by Public First, commissioned by Water UK, shows that England only has sufficient water for 420,000 of the 1.5 million homes the government wants built during its parliamentary term.
“ The appointment of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister has lifted spirits though. Alongside England’ s World Cup success and months of wall-to-wall sunshine, the GfK Consumer Confidence Index is looking more optimistic, with August’ s figure showing a three-point overall improvement compared to July, and a five-point increase in people’ s views on the general economic situation over the coming 12 months. Better yet, there was a five-point jump in the Major Purchase Index; a good omen perhaps for residential RMI projects.”
John Newcomb, CEO of the BMF, adds:“ The second quarter has brought little improvement for the UK construction industry, with weak demand continuing to weigh on building materials sales. Residential remains the biggest concern, while economic uncertainty, affordability pressures and high costs continue to hold back investment.
“ The impact of the slowdown in housebuilding is clearly visible in material deliveries. Department for Business and Trade( DBT) figures show brick deliveries fell by 16.3 % year-onyear in the 12 months to June 2026. Conversely, stocks of bricks at the end of June 2026 were 14.2 % higher than in June 2025 and 46.9 % higher than prepandemic levels in June 2019.
“ While housebuilding remains firmly in the doldrums, there are glimpses of future recovery in other sectors. Although the RICS Construction Monitor reports Q2 as the fifth consecutive quarter with a negative construction workload balance, the overall construction workload balance improved from-12 % in Q1 to-4 % in Q2. Infrastructure continues to be the
strongest performer, with workloads rising from + 4 % to + 16 %. Other public works, including education and healthcare, reached + 9 %. But the private sector is struggling; private housing has risen to-12 % from Q1’ s-19 %, private commercial has risen to-7 % from-15 %, and private industrial to-9 % from-15 %.
“ It shows the state of the industry that the fact that the rate of output contraction is slowing is a cause for celebration. This might be a sign that the downturn is bottoming out, but construction is still declining, and housing is the worst-affected sector. Delivering planned investment in public and social housing, alongside measures to restore confidence in private housing, is essential to turn expectations into actual projects and achieve the growth we all want to see.”
About BMBI The BMBI, a brand of the BMF, provides the most reliable, up-to-date measure of RMI activity in the UK. The Index uses NIQ GfK’ s Builders Merchant Point of Sale Tracking Data which analyses sales out data from over 88 % of generalist builders’ merchants’ sales in Great Britain. Monthly and quarterly reports are produced by MRA Research.
The BMBI Experts are positioned as authoritative voices of their markets, they add perspective, meaning and context to the data, with valuable and knowledgeable insights into key areas of construction and building materials supply. Visit www. bmbi. co. uk.
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