The latest sales indicator report from the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) shows that national sales dropped by 3.2% between June and August compared to the same period last year.
But there was an improvement in trading compared with the previous three months, with an increase in sales of 4.8%.
Jeremy Hawksley, BMF managing director, said the summer months are traditionally a strong trading period, so he would expect sales to be up on the previous quarter.
“Last year’s summer trading period was the high point of eight years continuous growth. We have seen a slowing this year, but it is too early to say how significant the slowdown is,” he added.
Sales of heavyside goods dropped by 5.9% compared to lightside which were down 0.2%. The BMF was unable to give figures relating to timber.
