Most folks in the construction and building supplies sphere think that 2026 will have a relatively low interest rate environment, but that “the impact will unfold with a lag.” In other words, building supplies distributors may be experiencing something like the calm before the storm (or at least the squall) in the coming months, which makes it a great time to reflect on what may be coming down the pike and find ways to prepare for delivery success in the near to medium term.
That’s exactly what we’re here to help with. Below, we break down the top 5 trends that building supplies distributors will have to grapple with in 2026. Each one presents a potential opportunity for getting smarter and more competitive for businesses that are able to take advantage of new tools, technologies, and strategies in the coming year.
1. Continued M&A Activity Will Push Digitization Forward
2025 was a big year for mergers and acquisitions in the building supplies and construction materials space—and the consensus is that in 2026 the market consolidation will continue.
What does this mean for logistics leaders? It means that change management and visibility will become non-negotiable. We expect many businesses being acquired to undergo digital transformations in order to integrate with the systems of their new parent companies, which in many cases will mean digitizing manual processes, automating logistics workflows, and taking steps to increase visibility and integration across logistics ops.
This can put pressure on the acquiring company as well. You need to be able to gain visibility into what’s happening across your newly expanded ops, and that means leveraging systems that are designed to ensure total transparency and a complete chain of custody across the supply chain.
In other words, the quest for visibility in M&A settings will push more and more businesses to upgrade their delivery and logistics technology to prioritize improved visibility.
2. Balancing Growth and Costs Will Be Top of Mind
Most businesses aren’t expecting any big swings in terms of material costs this year, and growth is projected to be fairly steady. That means that whatever your margins look like now, they represent the state of play. For most businesses, that means finding a way to grow while continuing to watch costs like a hawk.
Delivery and logistics will be hugely important areas of focus here. Why? Because for many construction materials distributors, delivery—particularly last mile delivery—is a huge cost center. Coordinating your fleet, your technicians, and your schedule relative to your customers’ is messy, frustrating, and time consuming.
But as technology has gotten more sophisticated (and, in many cases, more affordable thanks to widespread SaaS technology usage), it’s become more feasible to cut through that frustration and tackle these cost drivers head on.
In 2026, watch out for logistics leads and even CTOs in building materials rethinking their delivery operations with an eye towards optimization. This can and should include everything from optimizing routes and schedules to be more efficient to tracking deliveries in real time and managing exceptions proactively. In essence, anything they can do to make sure they’re getting out orders quickly and consistently delivering to the right place, at the right time, and in the right condition.
3. AI Will Empower Delivery Drivers
One of the keys to making sure delivery is a profitable part of your business instead of a cost driver is to make sure your drivers are empowered to get their jobs done quickly, efficiently, and correctly. In the coming year, we expect AI to play more and more of a role in that process.
What does that actually look like? We’ve written here about how AI for delivery drivers isn’t necessarily what people picture when they hear the term. In reality, the best uses of AI for empowering drivers and boosting their performance can be as simple as AI agents that can offer notes and guidance at each stop along a driver’s route.
This might include quick briefings on things like job site access, where to unload the truck, who placed the order and any special requests they may have had. In other words, providing drivers with the knowledge that they need to do their jobs quickly and easily. It’s a quick win for building supplies distributors, and we expect to see more and more of that kind of technology being deployed in the coming year.
4. Delivery Will Become a Potential Competitive Advantage for Mid-Sized Players
If we can take a step back from the AI conversation and try to get a mile high view of the emerging trends in delivery and logistics for building supplies, we can see that AI is just the tip of the iceberg. Really, increasing AI adoption is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to enabling smaller, leaner companies to compete with larger enterprises.
Part of this comes down to the increasing democratization of technology that’s come with the SaaS era. And some of it also comes down to the ways that AI is helping improve productivity in certain use cases (customer communication, for instance). But the upshot is this: a fully digitized and optimized mid-sized build supplies distributor can roll out a
5. Everyone Will Have to Expect the Unexpected
When we mentioned a few paragraphs ago that costs weren’t expected to grow hugely and growth was expected to continue apace, we’re betting that some of you raised an eyebrow. And with good reason. It only takes one surprising set of tariffs, unprecedented interest rate cut, natural disaster—you name it—to completely change the game and make our prognostications look silly.
The best that you can do in these situations is to be prepared. How? By taking control over your logistics and delivery operations. That means gaining visibility across the board, digitizing your workflows, and making sure that you have total clarity into how you can most effectively leverage your capacity and coordinate with your customers.
If costs and growth measures continue to be stable, you’re setting yourself up for lower delivery costs, improved flexibility, and happier customers. If conditions change, you can make updates to your strategy and your execution quickly and seamlessly.
In short, the ability to expect the unexpected will help separate winners and losers in the building supplies sector.
Conclusion: Leveraging the Right Technology for Building Supplies Distributors
2026 will come with huge challenges and opportunities when it comes to building supplies distribution, and industry players are already taking steps to set themselves up to weather disruptions and capitalize on new trends.
The best way to do both of those things at once is to make sure you have a strong technology foundation for your delivery operations. That means digitized routing, dispatching, customer experience, and documentation, as well as total visibility and intentional use of AI tools. It can sound like a tall order, but the first step is partnering with the right technology provider to set yourself up for delivery success.