--- title: "James Hardie vs Steel & Tube: Which is more popular in New Zealand?" description: "Is James Hardie or Steel & Tube more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Building product brands set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/james-hardie-vs-steel-and-tube" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # James Hardie vs Steel & Tube: Which is more popular in New Zealand? Is James Hardie or Steel & Tube more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Building product brands set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: James Hardie and Steel & Tube - **Competitive set**: Building product brands - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Oct 2026 - **James Hardie Share of Search**: 15.7% - **Steel & Tube Share of Search**: 27.7% ## Is James Hardie or Steel & Tube more popular in search? - In October 2026, Steel & Tube had more branded searches than James Hardie among building product brands in New Zealand. Steel & Tube had about 8,820 branded searches, while James Hardie had 5,010. Steel & Tube made up 27.7% of all building product brand searches we track, and James Hardie accounted for 15.7%. - Steel & Tube was ahead of James Hardie in every measured month of the 12 months ending October 2026. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, James Hardie’s share of searches among building product brands in New Zealand moved from 15.8% to 15.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 5.2K to 5K. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Steel & Tube’s share of searches among building product brands in New Zealand moved from 32.3% to 27.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 10.6K to 8.8K. ## Top building product brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, James Hardie was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Steel & Tube was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. James Hardie was listed before Steel & Tube in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | James Hardie | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Colorsteel | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | GIB | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Pink Batts | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Vantage | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Resene Construction Systems | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Laminex | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Abodo | 8th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Carter Holt Harvey | 9th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Nelson Pine | 10th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Steel & Tube | 11th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about building product brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which building product brand should I buy in New Zealand?": 1. GIB, 2. James Hardie, 3. Colorsteel, 4. Pink Batts, 5. Resene Construction Systems - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best building product brands in New Zealand?": 1. GIB, 2. James Hardie, 3. Colorsteel, 4. Pink Batts, 5. Resene Construction Systems, 6. Laminex, 7. Abodo, 8. Vantage, 9. Carter Holt Harvey, 10. Nelson Pine, 11. Steel & Tube - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best building product brand in New Zealand for new builds?": 1. James Hardie, 2. Colorsteel, 3. Vantage, 4. Pink Batts, 5. GIB - Searched Google, AI Overview "building supplies nz": 1. GIB - Searched Google, AI Overview "plasterboard brands": 1. GIB Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand building product brands in October 2026? - In October 2026, Steel & Tube lost share of searches among building product brands in New Zealand, from 31.7% to 27.7%. ## How has branded search for James Hardie and Steel & Tube changed in New Zealand over the last 12 months? | Month | James Hardie estimated searches | James Hardie Share of Search | James Hardie rank | Steel & Tube estimated searches | Steel & Tube Share of Search | Steel & Tube rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nov 2025 | 5.2K | 15.8% | 2 | 10.6K | 32.3% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 3.5K | 13.7% | 3 | 8.7K | 34.3% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 4.2K | 14.5% | 3 | 8.7K | 30.1% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 4.9K | 15.9% | 3 | 8.8K | 28.6% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 6K | 16.1% | 2 | 10.8K | 28.8% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 4.9K | 15.3% | 2 | 8.8K | 27.6% | 1 | | May 2026 | 5.2K | 14.7% | 2 | 10.6K | 29.9% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 5.3K | 14.8% | 2 | 10.6K | 29.7% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 5.1K | 14.7% | 2 | 10.6K | 30.8% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 6K | 15.8% | 2 | 13K | 34.1% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 5.2K | 15.3% | 2 | 10.8K | 31.7% | 1 | | Oct 2026 | 5K | 15.7% | 2 | 8.8K | 27.7% | 1 | ## How are James Hardie’s and Steel & Tube’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using James Hardie’s and Steel & Tube’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **James Hardie**: Measured on the search terms “james hardie”, “james hardie axon”, “james hardie board”, “james hardie easylap”, “james hardie flex”, “james hardie linea”, “james hardie plasterboard”, “james hardie soffit”, “james hardie stria”, “james hardie villaboard”, “james hardie weatherboard”, “jameshardie”, “jameshardie board” and “jameshardie cladding”, summed into one figure. - **Steel & Tube**: Measured on the search terms “steel & tube”, “steel and tube” and “steel and tube holdings”, summed into one figure. - [James Hardie profile](/demand/nz/brands/james-hardie) - [Steel & Tube profile](/demand/nz/brands/steel-and-tube) - [All building product brands in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-building-product-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 11 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is James Hardie or Steel & Tube more popular in search? In October 2026, Steel & Tube had more branded searches than James Hardie among building product brands in New Zealand. Steel & Tube had about 8,820 branded searches, while James Hardie had 5,010. Steel & Tube made up 27.7% of all building product brand searches we track, and James Hardie accounted for 15.7%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "James Hardie vs Steel & Tube: Which is more popular in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/james-hardie-vs-steel-and-tube This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/james-hardie-vs-steel-and-tube. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.