You mean the advantage is in the fact that materials come in convenient imperial measurements? In metric countries, they come in convenient metric sizes too, so

You mean the advantage is in the fact that materials come in convenient imperial measurements? In metric countries, they come in convenient metric sizes too, so that's no real advantage when everyone else cooperates. Obviously, nobody uses 50.8 x 101.6 mm timber unless they've converted from inches, so without inches, it wouldn't exist. The advantage I'm talking about is what comes from having 12 inches in a foot. If you're only using inches and not feet then there's obviously no advantage from that.