Three years of precipitous declines in the residential construction market have taken their toll on distributors reliant on that sector. In the past three months, at least four distributors have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with two filing in mid-June.

On June 16, Building Materials Holding Corp., Boise, ID, filed for reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware. The building materials and construction services supplier has seen sales decline by more than 50 percent since 2006, from $3 billion annually to $1.3 billion in 2008.

The prior week, Western Tool Supply, Salem, OR, submitted a petition to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Oregon. Sales for the distributor of tools, fasteners and related parts to contractors fell off 25 ...