Anna Eriksson

MRA Building Market Reports (MRA Reports) latest update on the general builders’ merchant market, which includes a quarterly Pulse survey of builders’ merchant confidence, sales expectations and issues, shows that merchants’ single biggest problem in Q2 2026 - by some margin - was supplier price rises, mentioned by 55% of respondents. Supplier price rises were seen as a problem by as many as 84% of merchants in Q2 2026, while 64% found squeezed margins to be an issue as merchants struggle to...

A survey undertaken in March by MRA Reports showed that just under four in five specialist roofing merchants are experiencing problems with product availability and long lead times. MRA Reports’ latest survey investigates the roofing distribution market in terms of sales expectations, market and business confidence, key product and market trends, as well as the most important problems, issues and challenges faced by specialist roofing merchants. The survey forms part of a new wider report on...

As 2025 wraps up, MRA Research reviews the latest data and recent developments in the construction sector to help make sense of what 2026 may bring. A deflated third quarter Figures covering the third quarter of 2025 have been looking quite pessimistic. For example, the Q3 figures from the Mineral Products Association (MPA) revealed continued weakness in aggregates, concrete and asphalt sales and the MPA said construction materials demand is at ‘crisis levels’. Data from the Builders...