ATLANTA – BlueLinx, a wholesale distributor of residential and commercial building products, generated net sales of $726 million, a decrease of $72 million or 9% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Gross profit was $128 million representing a decrease of $6 million or 4.4% year-over-year.

The net sales decrease was most pronounced in BlueLinx’s specialty products segment. Sales of products such as engineered wood, siding, millwork, outdoor living, industrial products and specialty lumber and panels, decreased $64 million or 11% to $504 million. The company said this decline was due to deflationary impacts across several specialty categories.

BlueLinx further reported that net sales of structural products, which includes products such as lumber, plywood, oriented strand board, rebar, and remesh, decreased $8 million or 3% to $222 million in the first quarter. The company attributed the decrease in structural sales primarily to lower framing lumber volumes when compared to the elevated levels in the prior year period. 

During the first quarter of 2024, BlueLinx invested $5 million to improve its distribution facilities and upgrade its fleet, compared to $9 million of investments in the first quarter of 2023. In addition, during the first quarter of 2024, BlueLinx said it entered into finance leases for $8 million of fleet upgrades. 

“We are off to a solid start to 2024, despite ongoing deflationary pressures associated with our specialty business and January weather conditions that adversely impacted volumes. We are pleased with the results for the quarter as volumes recovered and we maintained strong margins in specialty and structural products,” said Shyam Reddy, president and CEO of BlueLinx.