Where you wanted to be and what you wanted to sell both figured mightily as factors in construction supply’s acquisition, openings, and closures activity in 2022. Deals were almost as numerous as in 2021, but big deals were rarer. Meanwhile, greenfield openings were far more numerous.
All of that information is part of Webb Analytics’ Deals Report 2022, which gives you data, context, and commentary on the more than 760 construction supply facilities that were acquired, opened for the first time, or closed in 2022. This 17-page PDF tracks what happened at the nation’s suppliers of lumber, roofing, siding, gypsum, landscaping, trusses, components, and millwork, plus hardware stores and home centers. It ranks the biggest deals and biggest dealmakers. There’s a breakdown of activity in each state as well as special looks at Builders FirstSource, SRS Distribution, and US LBM (including the impact of a huge deal announced in January 2023). There are 14 maps and nine tables and charts. And what happened in 2022 is compared with numbers on how many acquisitions, openings, and closures took place annually as far back as 2018.
The Big Picture
Webb Analytics recorded 762 construction supply facilities—i.e., locations where a home builder or remodeler would be likely to shop—that in 2022 changed hands, opened for the first time, or were closed. That’s 27% fewer than 2021’s 1,046 facilities. Acquisitions activity was even slower, with 44% fewer facilities involved. But at 164, the number of deals was only 8% lower and there were just four fewer buyers. How? Because there were fewer locations per acquisition: 2.7 per deal in 2022 vs. 4.4 in 2021 and 7.6 in 2020 (when Builders FirstSource absorbed BMC). The 250 greenfield openings mainly were at exterior supply houses, flooring stores, and hardware outfits. [For image, See PDF or View in Full Issue.]
Trusses, Components and Millwork
LBM operations in 2022 bought 53 locations that made trusses and components, did millwork, or either made or sold doors and windows. Another eight such facilities started business for the first time. And in this category, the focus was on Arizona and on the stepped-up bids by US LBM and Builders FirstSource to win market share in Phoenix.
Along with four components plants in the Grand Canyon State that it picked up via the Foxworth-Galbraith deal, US LBM bought Truss Fab’s two yards and the single-store Crown Components, also in Arizona. Meanwhile, BFS followed its 2021 purchase of the huge Alliance group—a significant player in the Phoenix market—by purchasing two more Arizona operations: Pima Door & Supply and Sunrise Carpentry. BFS also picked up three truss operations in New England with its National Lumber purchase.
For all that, the biggest deal in this sector probably was BFS’ acquisition of Trussway Manufacturing, with operations in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia and annual sales of $340 million. As for door and window specialty dealers and service providers, Kodiak Building Partners made the most prominent deal, acquiring Sun Mountain Custom Doors, which has nine facilities in seven states. 84 Lumber was quiet in 2022, but early in 2023 it announced plans to open or expand component facilities in six states, plus open a door shop in Colorado.
To download the complete 2022 Deals Report, visit www.webb-analytics.com.
About Webb Analytics
Webb Analytics is a research and consulting firm that helps construction supply companies identify and respond to trends, threats, and opportunities. Founder and President Craig Webb is one of the nation’s leading experts on building material dealers and distributors. He spent 12 years as editor-in-chief of ProSales, the nation’s most honored publication for building material dealers, as well as five years as editor-in-chief of Remodeling magazine.