The South East (excluding London) was one of the strongest performing regions for building materials sales in Q2 with volume of sales driving growth rather than price inflation.
The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) quarterly Builders Merchants Building Index (BMBI) listed the South East as one of the top performing regions with growth of 9.1%.
All regions sold more in April, May and June 2023 compared to the first three months of the year, with total value sales up 7.6%.
The volume of sales overall rose by 11.3% in Q2, while prices were -3.3% lower.
Seen as a gold standard measure of sales activity in the building materials sector, the BMF’s BMBI is considered a key bellwether of the national economy and the ‘mood of the nation’ in terms of home repair, maintenance and improvement.
BMF CEO John Newcomb said: “The latest BMBI report indicates a shift in the drivers of growth in the building materials supply chain.
“After months of increased sales value being largely down to price inflation, the latest report shows that growth recorded in Q2 this year came entirely from a higher volume of sales.”
Using GfK’s point of sale tracking data, the BMF’s BMBI is drawn from over 80 per cent of builders’ merchants sales throughout the country, making it the most reliable source of data for the sector.
