“Sales of timber and joinery products have risen by more-than 6% over the past year”
It’s a good time for a lot of people in the building trades. Builders merchants value of sales to builders, contractors and timber trades rose by 5% in the first month of 2019 – and sales of timber and joinery products managed to outperform even that positive figure, rising by 6.2% over the same period. That’s great news that speaks to a positive underlying business environment bolstered by strong demand.
Sales have grown not just over the year as a whole, but the pace of improvement has kept up, meaning we’ve seen sequential gains over the last 12 months. November to January sales rose by 4.4% against the previous year, and January sales were also up 4.4% (when adjusted to account for the extra trading days in January) from December. February continued to see sales improve by an even greater clip – up 5.3% year on year.
Speaking about the strength of the market, the Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) timber expert, Nigel Cox, said: “Confidence is holding up despite ever-present economic uncertainty. Contingency planning continues for a ‘No Deal’ Brexit but there will inevitably be delays as imports get port clearance.”
Mr. Cox continued to note that the hardwood timber supply remained “good” despite some issues with North American varieties. He also suggested that Ghana’s FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) certification, which makes it the first legal and sustainably-sourced exporter of tropical hardwood “must be welcomed”. Supply and quality of panel products continues to improve. Plywood, however, is a weak point: “inconsistent in availability, quality and price, all of which are a concern.”
With demand riding high, Quercus remains more than capable of meeting all your timber supply needs. If you’d like to discuss your requirements, please contact us on 0845 50 50 311.