The value of timber and joinery product sales at UK builders\u2019 merchants increased slightly in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from the Builders Merchants Building Index (BMBI).<\/p>\n
Like-for-like value sales for timber and joinery products rose by 1.8% year-on-year in the final quarter of the year. A strong performance in December, when sales were 8.6% higher than a year earlier, helped close 2025 on a more positive note for the category.<\/p>\n
Overall trading conditions across the builders\u2019 merchant sector remained weaker. After adjusting for trading days, total like-for-like value sales across all product categories in Q4 2025 were 1.2% lower than in Q4 2024, while sales volumes declined by 2.9%. The figures indicate that modest price increases partly offset weaker demand.<\/p>\n
Sales of heavy building materials recorded a sharper decline, with values falling 3.9% year-on-year.<\/p>\n
Compared with the previous quarter, activity slowed significantly. Like-for-like sales in Q4 2025 were 9.0% lower than in Q3, while volume sales dropped by 13.1% over the same period.<\/p>\n
James Davenport, managing director of Mets\u00e4 Wood UK and the BMBI\u2019s expert for softwoods and engineered timber, said demand for engineered timber products weakened toward the end of the quarter. He noted that many companies also reduced inventories ahead of financial year-end reporting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are still pockets of activity in certain regions, and this is likely linked to affordability,\u201d Davenport said. He added that there remains demand for softwood products as repair and maintenance work continues, but customers are increasingly focused on price and often compare suppliers to secure the lowest cost.<\/p>\n
Reports from merchants suggest that many construction businesses are operating with relatively weak order books, which has intensified price competition across the supply chain.<\/p>\n
Supply conditions in the European timber market have also shifted. Much of the strength-graded timber, joinery-grade softwood and engineered wood products sold in the UK is sourced from continental Europe, particularly the Nordic countries and central Europe.<\/p>\n
According to Davenport, log supplies in these regions declined as major roundwood consumers became unwilling to pay the high prices demanded by forest owners. At the same time, weak demand across key European markets led some producers to reduce output, in several cases extending mill shutdowns during the Christmas period.<\/p>\n
The market entered 2026 with supply-chain inventories broadly balanced, Davenport said. However, he warned that any disruption in production or a sudden increase in demand during the first quarter could lead to sharp price increases later in the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf either a lack of production or excessive demand materialises in the first quarter, we could see very aggressive price increases in the second quarter,\u201d he said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98219,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n