Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Material Supply Chain Group has released a statement on the group’s third quarter data.
The released statement comes from Builders Merchants Federation CEO John Newcomb, and Construction Products Association CEO Peter Caplehorn, the co-chairs of the CLC Material Supply Chain Group.
The third quarter of the year has shown flat or declining sales of building materials compared to 2024, and while product availability is generally good, however, there is increasing concern about the overall state of the construction market.
“The past few months have experienced persistent pressures across the supply chain. The consensus within the group is that this remains one of the most challenging trading environments in over ten years, characterised by sustained weakness in demand, margin pressures, and limited signs of recovery. Many businesses are facing short-term financial difficulties and decreased confidence, with forecasts suggesting that the market as a whole is expected to remain essentially flat in the near future, although there are small pockets of growth, including energy generation, energy efficiency such as solar PV and heat pumps, data centres, and smaller high-end, high-value commercial refurbishment and fit-out.
“All parties are stressing the importance of strong supplier relationships to ensure readiness when demand eventually recovers.”
Many in the group have also emphasised that while the housebuilding and domestic RMI sectors await that recovery, the lack of demand there in the short-term has led those employers – most of whom are SME’s – to curtail hiring and investment in apprentices, unfilled vacancies and up-skilling.
“Simply put, despite thousands of applicants, employers are not employing in these sectors. There is therefore a genuine risk of a loss in both capacity and workforce that will lead to a more pronounced shortage in the medium-term, just when a recovering market can least afford it. This will make the Construction Skills Mission Board’s target to achieve an additional 100,000 new recruits per annum into the industry by the end of this parliament that much more challenging.”
“It is imperative that where demand has been sustained, employers commit to investing in people, as these sectors are in fact long-term growth opportunities. More widely for the housebuilding and RMI sectors, this group is seeking some kind of demand-side stimulus from the UK government along with a renewed focus on its Warm Homes Plan that has promised a £13 billion investment for five million homes across Britain.
“While the industry continues to demonstrate resilience, members agree it is important to increase awareness with government and stakeholders about these challenges — not to criticise, but to encourage meaningful engagement and policy support that can help rebuild confidence, safeguard jobs, and sustain investment across the construction sector.”
