Four-year construction slump threatens jobs, says MPA

British construction demand has fallen for a fourth consecutive year, putting jobs at risk and threatening future supply capacity, according to new data from the Mineral Products Association (MPA).

The trade body said sales volumes for key construction materials reached historic lows in 2025, despite limited stabilisation late in the year, as planning delays and weak housing demand continued to suppress activity.

Across 2025, demand for ready-mixed concrete fell by 9.9 per cent, aggregates by 1.6 per cent and asphalt by 1.1 per cent.

Mortar sales rose by 5.2 per cent over the year, but growth slowed sharply in the second half.

The MPA said the sustained weakness, combined with rising operating costs, was forcing producers to mothball sites, defer investment and cut capacity. It warned this was already putting skilled jobs at risk.

The association added that prolonged underinvestment threatened the resilience of domestic supply chains for mineral products, many of which cannot be economically imported, creating risks for future housing and infrastructure delivery .

Aurelie Delannoy, MPA director of economic affairs, said the downturn showed no sign of easing by the end of 2025.

She said the weakness reflected the fragile state of the construction sector, weak investor confidence and the wider economic slowdown.

“These materials are used at the very start of construction projects, and sustained weakness in demand shows Britain is not meeting its commitments on housing and infrastructure delivery,” Delannoy said.

The MPA said the four-year decline in materials demand pointed to a chronic lack of new work across housing, commercial development and infrastructure.

London was identified as the weakest market. Ready-mixed concrete sales in the capital fell by a record 27 per cent in 2025 and were 39 per cent lower than in 2023.

The association attributed the decline to economic uncertainty, affordability pressures and reduced project viability in both residential and commercial development.

It said delays to high-rise schemes caused by backlogs at the Building Safety Regulator had further curtailed activity, with the scale of the fall indicating housing delivery was well below stated ambitions.

Delannoy said government policy risked worsening the situation in the short term.

She said delays in implementing emergency measures to support London housebuilding, including changes to affordable housing thresholds and temporary Community Infrastructure Levy relief, were causing developers to pause schemes.

She added that some applicants were revisiting existing planning submissions to meet relaxed criteria, creating further delays.

Housebuilding, which accounts for almost a quarter of construction aggregates demand and about 30 per cent of ready-mixed concrete demand, showed no sustained recovery during 2025.

The MPA said falling mortgage rates had not translated into higher output, with affordability remaining the main constraint on demand. Rising unemployment was also weighing on household confidence.

Mortar sales rose during the year but lost momentum, with volumes falling by 2 per cent in the final quarter of 2025.

Infrastructure activity provided limited support. HS2 continued to underpin demand, but aggregate and concrete volumes declined as the programme was reset.

Early works at Sizewell C were expected to support aggregates demand in 2026, but the MPA said there were few other major schemes ready to offset wider weakness.

Roadbuilding remained a particular concern. Asphalt demand stayed at levels last seen in 2013, reflecting project delays, the cancellation of 10 major road schemes and constrained local authority maintenance budgets.

Chris Leese, MPA executive chair, said construction materials were one of the clearest early indicators of activity on site.

He said the Autumn Budget failed to deliver the growth needed to restore confidence and unlock investment.

“When material demand remains this weak for this long, it points to serious delivery failures and growing risks to the UK’s domestic supply capacity,” Leese said.

The MPA said further cost pressures in 2026, including higher business rates and a fuel duty increase from September, were likely to weigh on near-term prospects.

It added that any recovery in demand depended on a revival in housebuyer demand and business confidence, with a sustained upturn unlikely before 2027.