Wholesale and Retail Trade in Construction Materials

According to Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), the total building materials market was worth R191.3bn in 2016. Wholesale trade in construction materials such as basic materials such as cement, aggregate, concrete and steel totalled some R122.9bn, while retail sales of hardware, paint and glass were worth R68.3bn. Building materials account for 6.2% of total South African wholesale trade, while the retail of hardware, paint and glass makes up 7.5% of all retail.

Reliance on the Construction and Building Industry

Although the 2016 figures for wholesale represent year-on-year growth of some 14% over 2015 and retail has grown by around 5%, many role players concurred that market conditions during the year were “the worst yet.” The sector is heavily reliant on the construction industry and continues to rely upon improved government infrastructure expenditure and an upturn in the private and residential building market to provide the conditions for growth. However, this has not yet happened and industry analysts and players do not expect the economic situation to improve in the short-term. As a result, almost all the major players have placed a focus on cutting costs and carefully managing their supply chains.

Report Coverage

The detailed report on the Wholesale and Retail Trade in Construction Materials in South Africa provides a disaggregated analysis of key categories within the building materials sector and discusses current conditions. Corporate actions within the industry and factors influencing the success of the sector are also discussed. The report profiles 146 companies including large retailers such as MassMart's Builders' chain, SPAR's Build it, Italtile and Cashbuild. Large wholesalers such as the Distribution and Warehousing Network (DAWN), Afrimat, the major cement manufacturers, and downstream steel suppliers and building firms such as Aveng are also profiled.