Builders merchants saw strong sales in October with plumbing and electricals one of the top performers.
Total merchant sales were the highest since GfK began compiling BMBI sales data in July 2014.
They were up 10% compared with October 2016, with plumbing, heating and electrical among the top categories, which were up by 11.4%.
Average sales a day increased by 5% for merchants overall.
Month-on-month sales increased by 5% compared with September, with average sales a day exceeding September by 0.3%.
Plumbing, heating and electrical saw higher than average sales a day, up by 2.2%.
Over the three months to October, sales increased by 6.2% on the same three months in 2016.
In these three months, plumbing, heating and electrical saw a 9.3% increase in sales, while kitchens and bathrooms rose by 7.9%, which were some of the strongest performing categories.
In the year to date, sales were 4.9% higher than a year ago and the rolling 12 months were 5.4% better than the preceding 12 months.
However, the report also warned that many sectors have reported “substantial” price increases over the past 12 months and warned that the likely impact of inflation cannot be ignored.
That said, merchants significantly outperformed ONS Construction Output in October, the index claimed, and showed no sign of the predicted weaker autumn trading.