Construction & Engineering Awards 2018

2018 Construction & Engineering Awards Build 55 The Builders Merchants Federation Ltd Builders’ merchants have reported a double-digit increase in June, with average daily sales up 11.2% up on June 2017. Their performance reinforces the recent release of ONS data that has found construction output grew by 0.9% in Quarter 2 on 2018. or sales from suppliers to the supply chain, this up-to-date data is based on actual sales from merchants to builders and other trades. The data on builders’ merchants is produced for the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) through the ‘Builders Merchants Building Index’ (BMBI) which tracks builders’ merchants’ actual sales using GfK data. It found that total builders’ merchants’ sales in the first six months of 2018 increased by 4.0% over the same six months in 2017. The data also showed that average sales a day in the second quarter of 2018 were 18.7% higher than in the first quarter. The rise was led by a significant increase in landscaping sales, driven by the warm weather, with the ONS also finding there to have been an increase in Q2 in repair and maintenance work. The BMF state that their merchants’ set of results indicate that the building materials supply chain is working well and fulfilling demand across the country being fuelled by construction and housebuilding projects. John Newcomb, Chief Executive of the BMF, commented on the findings and the impact they had the construction space. “Our members continue to deliver an effective and robust building materials supply chain, and I’m pleased to see this demonstrated through the BMBI and ONS construction data released today. As we predicted, the better weather has led to an increase in demand for home improvement projects. Major construction projects continue to drive sales for builders’ merchants across the country and our members are doing an excellent job ensuring we get the right materials in the right place.” Overall, the data highlights the growing demands put on the construction industry, despite recent market worries regarding the uncertainty that the UK’s Brexit problems is causing. he Builders Merchants Federation Ltd (BMF) is the only trade association that represents and protects the interests of builders’ merchants and suppliers to the building material industry in the UK and Ireland. Total membership at 1 July 2018 stands at 650 merchant and supplier companies who together have combined sales of £29.5bn and employ 114,000 people in the building materials industry. BMF’s 344 merchant members operate from over 5,610 branches across the UK and Ireland. This Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report contains data from GfK’s ground-breaking Builders Merchants Panel, which analyses data from over 80% of generalist builders’ merchants’ sales throughout Great Britain. GfK’s Builders Merchant Point of Sale Tracking Data sets a gold standard in reliable market trends. Unlike data from sources based on estimates, T 1 Builders’ Merchants’ Sales Soar As Part Of 0.9% Rise In Construction Output