Analysis from the BMF (Builders Merchants Federation), found sales in the South West rose by +7% in December 2024 compared to December 2023, despite a year-on-year total drop of -3.5%.
Considered to be a key bellwether for the national economic picture, building materials sales are analysed in the BMF’s quarterly Building Materials Building Index (BMBI).
David Young, the CEO of Bradford Building Supplies, is the BMF’s south west regional chair. He said: “It was great to see the year finish so strongly. This was, however, entirely down to the weather.
“The milder, dryer conditions allowed our customers to build right up to the Christmas break.
“We hope this momentum will continue into 2025 and we all see positive underlying growth again.”
The BMF’s BMBI is drawn from 88 per cent of builders’ merchants sales throughout the country, using GfK’s point of sale tracking data to make it one of the most reliable measures of sales activity for the sector.
BMF CEO John Newcomb said: “Our BMBI analysis monitors both national trends and regional variances.
“Nationally, sales of building materials fell -4.1% in 2024 compared to 2023, with a slight decline of -0.5% recorded in Q4 and a rise of +3% in December.
“The unexpected growth recorded at the end of the year mirrors the wider economic picture, demonstrating that the building materials sector reflects the ‘mood of the nation’ particularly around home repair, maintenance and improvement.”