Construction building materials: commentary August 2024
Published 4 September 2024
© Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/building-materials-and-components-statistics-august-2024/construction-building-materials-commentary-august-2024
Coverage: United Kingdom (UK) and Great Britain (GB) - country and region
1. Headline findings
Headline findings in this edition of the publication are that:
- deliveries of bricks increased by 1.4% in July 2024 compared to July 2023
- deliveries of blocks decreased by 15.1% in July 2024 compared to July 2023
- the material price index for ‘All Work’ decreased by 1.0% in July 2024 compared to July 2023
Figure 1: Seasonally adjusted deliveries of bricks, GB
Number of bricks
Source: Monthly statistics of building materials and components, table 9
2. Introduction
This commentary accompanies the latest Monthly Statistics of Building Materials and Components data tables, published on the Building Materials and Components web page on 4 September 2024. It provides an overview of recent trends in the data presented in the tables. The data tables present the latest detailed information on selected building materials and components. They cover the following materials:
- construction material price indices (monthly, UK)
- sand and gravel sales (quarterly, GB and regions)
- concrete roofing tiles production, deliveries and stocks (quarterly, GB)
- ready-mixed concrete deliveries (quarterly, UK)
- slate production, deliveries and stocks (quarterly, GB)
- cement and clinker production, deliveries and stocks (annual, GB)
- bricks production, deliveries and stocks (monthly, GB and regions)
- concrete building blocks production, deliveries and stocks (monthly, GB and regions)
- values of overseas imports and exports trades for selected materials and components for use in construction (quarterly, UK)
- value of European Union (EU) and Non-EU Trade for selected materials and components for use in construction (annual, UK)
These statistics support analysis of the construction materials market and business planning. They are regularly reported in the construction press and are used for a variety of purposes, including policy development, evaluation and monitoring market trends. For further details see section 8.5 Uses of these statistics.
3. Summary of results
3.1 Material price indices
Figure 2: Construction material annual price inflation, UK
Source: Monthly statistics of building materials and components, table 1
Table 1: Construction material price indices, year-on-year and month-on-month percentage change
| Material price indices | July 2023 to July 2024 | June 2024 to July 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| New housing | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Other new work | -1.9 | -0.3 |
| Repair and maintenance | 0.5 | -0.4 |
| All work | -1.0 | -0.3 |
The material price index for ‘All work’:
- decreased by 1.0% in July 2024 compared to July 2023
- decreased by 0.9% in June 2024 compared to June 2023
- decreased by 0.3% in July 2024 compared to June 2024
- decreased by 0.3% in June 2024 compared to May 2024
Table 2: Construction materials experiencing the greatest price increases and decreases in the 12 months to July 2024, UK
| Construction materials | (% change) |
|---|---|
| Pipes and fittings (flexible) | 17.4 |
| Precast concrete: blocks, bricks, tiles and flagstones | 5.1 |
| Pre-cast concrete products | 3.7 |
| Concrete reinforcing bars (steel) | -7.2 |
| Fabricated structural steel | -10.5 |
| Gravel, sand, clays and kaolin - incl aggregate levy | -13.4 |
The aggregated construction material price indices hide larger price movements for some specific products and materials, table 2 shows the 3 largest increases and the 3 largest decreases.
3.2 Cement and clinker
Figure 3: Production of cement and clinker, GB
Weight of cement and clinker
Source: Monthly statistics of building materials and components, table 8
Production of cement:
- decreased by 6.8% to 8.4 million tonnes in 2022 compared to 9.0 million tonnes in 2021
- increased by 12.0% in 2021 compared to 2020
Production of clinker:
- decreased by 2.8% to 7.2 million tonnes in 2022 compared to 7.4 million tonnes in 2021
- increased by 6.1% in 2021 compared to 2020
3.3 Sand and gravel
Figure 4: Seasonally adjusted sales of sand and gravel, GB
Weight of sand and gravel
Source: Monthly statistics of building materials and components, table 4
According to the seasonally adjusted data, sales of sand and gravel:
- decreased by 6.8% in Quarter 2 2024 compared to Quarter 1 2024
- increased by 0.7% in Quarter 1 2024 compared to Quarter 4 2023
- decreased by 16.0% in Quarter 2 2024 compared to Quarter 2 2023
- decreased by 13.3% in Quarter 1 2024 compared to Quarter 1 2023
- after recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, from 2022 the general trend has been of a decline
- have consistently remained below levels typically seen before the recession of 2008 to 2009
3.4 Concrete
Figure 5: Seasonally adjusted sales of ready-mixed concrete, GB
Volume of concrete
Source: Monthly statistics of building materials and components, table 6
According to the seasonally adjusted data, ready mixed concrete sales:
- decreased by 3.4% in Quarter 1 2024 compared to Quarter 4 2023
- decreased by 3.3% in Quarter 4 2023 compared to Quarter 3 2023
- decreased by 17.1% in Quarter 1 2024 compared to Quarter 1 2023
- decreased by 8.4% in Quarter 4 2023 compared to Quarter 4 2022
- recovered steadily since Quarter 2 2012 after the 2008 to 2009 recession, until the drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- have been declining since 2021
3.5 Bricks
Figure 6: Seasonally adjusted deliveries of bricks, GB
Number of bricks
Source: Monthly statistics of building materials and components, table 9
According to the seasonally adjusted data, bricks deliveries:
- increased by 1.4% in July 2024 compared to July 2023
- decreased by 11.0% in June 2024 compared to June 2023
- increased by 7.9% in July 2024 compared to June 2024
- increased by 2.2% in June 2024 compared to May 2024
- have been declining since 2022
- grew from 2013 until 2022, interrupted only by the sharp decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- declined during the recession of 2008 to 2009
3.6 Blocks
Figure 7: Seasonally adjusted deliveries of concrete blocks, GB
Area of concrete blocks
Source: Monthly statistics of building materials and components, table 11
According to the seasonally adjusted data, blocks deliveries:
- decreased by 15.1% in July 2024 compared to July 2023
- decreased by 10.6% in June 2024 compared to June 2023
- decreased by 7.5% in July 2024 compared to June 2024
- increased by 1.4% in June 2024 compared to May 2024
- grew from 2013 until 2020, interrupted only by the sharp decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- declined during the recession of 2008 to 2009
- have been declining since 2021
3.7 Imports and exports of construction materials
Extensive revisions have been made to trade data from 2018 onwards. These revisions primarily reflect HMRC corrections to trade data between 2015 and 2019 made in 2021. They also reflect errors in processing of the data used in the publication in more recent quarters, in particular a failure to amend values HMRC has revised to 0. The data tables published alongside this commentary (see tables 13 and 14) have been revised to reflect these changes
Figure 8: Quarterly exports and imports of construction materials, UK
Nominal value in Pound Sterling
Source: Monthly statistics of building materials and components, table 13
Exports of construction materials:
- increased by £21 million in Quarter 1 2024 compared to Quarter 4 2023, from £1,989 million to £2,010 million, an increase of 1.1%
- decreased by £6 million in 2023 compared to 2022, from £8,306 million to £8,300 million, a decrease of 0.1%
Imports of construction materials:
- increased by £275 million in Quarter 1 2024 compared to Quarter 4 2023, from £4,963 million to £5,238 million, an increase of 5.5%
- decreased by £1,494 million in 2023 compared to 2022, from £23,038 million to £21,544 million, a decrease of 6.5%
The trade deficit of construction materials:
- widened by £254 million in Quarter 1 2024 compared to the previous quarter, from £2,975 million to £3,229 million, an increase of 8.5%
- contracted by £1,489 million in 2023 compared to 2022, from £14,732 million to £13,243 million, a decrease of 10.1%
Table 3: top 5 exported construction materials in 2023
| Top 5 exported materials | £ (million) |
|---|---|
| Electrical wires | 965 |
| Paints and varnishes | 838 |
| Air conditioning equipment | 420 |
| Lamps and fittings | 416 |
| Linoleum floor coverings | 360 |
The top 5 exported materials in 2023 accounted for 36.1% of total construction material exports.
Table 4: top 5 imported construction materials in 2023
| Top 5 imported materials | £ (million) |
|---|---|
| Electrical wires | 2,493 |
| Lamps and fittings | 1,078 |
| Sawn wood > 6mm thick | 1,025 |
| Air conditioning equipment | 994 |
| Builders ironmongery | 826 |
The top 5 imported construction materials in 2023 accounted for 29.8% of total construction material imports.
Table 5: UK trade of construction materials with EU and non-EU countries, 2023
| Trade | EU | Non-EU | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exports £ (million) | 4,984 | 3,316 | 8,300 |
| Exports (% of total trade) | 60.0 | 40.0 | 100.0 |
| Imports £ (million) | 13,172 | 8,372 | 21,544 |
| Imports (% of total trade) | 61.1 | 38.9 | 100.0 |
Looking at the UK construction materials trades with the EU:
- the total share of exports going to the EU declined from 60.6% in 2022 to 60.0% in 2023
- the total share of imports coming from the EU increased from 57.9% in 2022 to 61.1% in 2023
- in 2019, prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of total exports going to the EU was 60.5%, whilst the share of total imports coming from the EU was 55.7%
Table 6: top 5 UK export markets for construction materials in 2023
| Top 5 export markets | £ (million) |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 1,479 |
| United States | 989 |
| Germany | 727 |
| Netherlands | 639 |
| France | 539 |
The top 5 export markets comprised 52.7% of total construction materials exports in 2023. Ireland is the largest export market, with a share of 17.8% of total exports.
Table 7: top 5 UK import markets for construction materials in 2023
| Top 5 import markets | £ (million) |
|---|---|
| China | 3,935 |
| Germany | 2,276 |
| Netherlands | 1,272 |
| Italy | 1,184 |
| Spain | 1,181 |
The top 5 import markets comprised 45.7% of total construction materials imports in 2023. Around 18.3% of all imports are from China.
The ‘Rotterdam Effect’ (also known as the ‘Antwerp Effect’) may affect trade figures.
4. Economic background
4.1 Construction output
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published Construction output in Great Britain: June 2024, new orders and Construction Output Price Indices, April to June 2024 on 15 August 2024.
Main points:
- Construction output is estimated to have fallen by 0.1% in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2024, compared with Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024; this came solely from a decrease in new work (0.5% fall), as repair and maintenance grew by 0.4%.
- Monthly construction output is estimated to have grown by 0.5% in June 2024; this came from rises in both new work (0.9%), and repair and maintenance (0.1%).
- At the sector level, seven out of the nine sectors grew in June 2024, with the main contributors to the monthly increase from non-housing repair and maintenance, and private commercial new work, which grew by 3.2% and 2.1%, respectively.
- Total construction new orders grew by 16.5% (£1,771 million) in Quarter 2 2024, compared with Quarter 1 2024; this quarterly increase mainly came from private commercial new work, and infrastructure new work, which grew by 15.1% (£503 million) and 23.4% (£389 million), respectively.
- The annual rate of construction output price growth was 1.9% in the 12 months to June 2024.
4.2 Bank of England summary of business conditions
The Bank of England published its most recent update to the Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions on 20 June 2024, covering intelligence gathered in the 6 weeks to mid-May 2024.
Main points:
- the pace of annual decline in construction output continues to ease
- sentiment is improving and more contacts are anticipating higher output towards the end of the year, aided by stabilising costs and the expected easing in bank rate
- private housebuilding remains down compared to the same time last year, but smaller housebuilders reported an improvement in Q2 2024 on Q1 2024
- larger private developers are focusing on social housing projects to maintain output until private demand picks up
- budget constraints have led to fewer public sector projects, but utility and core infrastructure developments have partially offset this
- refurbishment of older buildings continues in order to lower running costs and improve energy ratings
- commercial development continues to fall modestly compared to the same time last year
- confidence remains subdued due to sub-contractor failures and long planning processes
4.3 Business insights
The ONS published further information from their fortnightly Business insights and impact on the UK economy on 22 August 2024, which was live from 5 to 18 August 2024.
4.4 Gross domestic product estimate
ONS published estimates of Gross domestic product for June 2024 on 15 August 2024.
Main points:
- monthly real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have shown no growth in June 2024, following unrevised growth of 0.4% in May 2024
- real GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.6% in the three months to June 2024, compared with the three months to March 2024 with widespread growth in the services sector driving growth in this period
- services output fell by 0.1% in June 2024, following unrevised growth of 0.3% in May 2024, but grew by 0.8% in the three months to June 2024
- production output grew by 0.8% in June 2024, following growth of 0.3% in May 2024 (revised up from 0.2% in our last publication), but fell by 0.1% in the three months to June 2024
- construction output grew by 0.5% in June 2024, following growth of 1.7% in May 2024 (revised down from 1.9% in our last publication), but fell by 0.1% in the three months to June 2024
- there are revisions to April and May 2024 in this monthly release in accordance with the National Accounts revision policy; data revisions up to 2022, as announced in our Blue Book 2024: Advanced aggregate estimates release, and any additional updates to data from 2023 onwards, will be published in our monthly GDP release on 11 October 2024
4.5 Gross domestic product forecast
The latest monthly Consensus economics forecast survey (which uses an average of private sector forecasts) results were published in August 2024:
- the mean GDP forecast for 2024 is 1.0%, up from 0.8% in the previous month’s forecast.
- the mean GDP forecast for 2025 is 1.2%, up from 1.1% in the previous month’s forecast.
The Office for Budget Responsibility published a new economic and fiscal outlook on 6 March 2024:
- GDP was expected to grow by 0.8% in 2024 (up from 0.7% in the November 2023 forecast)
- GDP was expected to grow by 1.9% in 2025 and 2.0% in 2026
4.6 Construction output forecasts
Experian published their summer 2024 forecasts for the construction sector in July 2024.
Main points:
-
total construction output is projected to decline by 0.6% in 2024, then grow by 3.3% in 2025 and 3.2% in 2026
-
the new housing sector is expected to decline by 4.2% in 2024, then grow by 7.7% in 2025 and 6.4% in 2026
-
total repair, maintenance and improvement (RM&I) is forecast to grow by 3.7% in 2024, 2.8% in 2025 and 2.3% in 2026
-
the new infrastructure sector is expected to decline by 2.9% in 2024, then grow by 2.0% in 2025 and 2026
-
the private industrial sector is expected to decline by 12.3% in 2024, then grow by 1.1% in 2025 and 1.8% in 2026
-
the public non-residential sector is forecast to grow by 0.7% in 2024, 2.3% in 2025 and 2.5% in 2026
The Construction Products Association (CPA) published their construction industry forecasts for summer 2024 in July 2024.
Main points:
- the CPA forecasts construction output to fall by 2.9% in 2024, before growing by 2.0% in 2025 and a further 3.6% in 2026
- private housing is expected to fall by 6.0% in 2024 and grow by 6.0% in 2025
- private housing RM&I is expected to fall by 6.0% in 2024 before growing by 2.0% in 2025
4.7 Manufacturing
The latest Index of Production data for June 2024 were published on 15 August 2024 by ONS.
Main points for the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 23.1-4/7-9 industry (includes manufacture of bricks, tiles and other construction products, seasonally adjusted):
- when comparing June 2024 with June 2023, output decreased by 11.9%
- when comparing June 2024 with May 2024, output increased by 0.36%
Main points for the SIC 23.5-6 industry (includes the manufacture of concrete, cement and other products for construction purposes, seasonally adjusted):
- when comparing June 2024 with June 2023, output decreased by 39.6%
- when comparing June 2024 with May 2024, output increased by 3.7%
5. Accompanying tables
The most recently published data tables (available in Excel and Open Document Spreadsheet (ODS) format) can be found at the Building Materials and Components website in the ‘Construction building materials: tables, August 2024’ documents. All data used in this report for charts and tables are also available for users to download in the ‘Construction building materials: data for charts and table, August 2024’ document (ODS format).
Past editions of the statistics can be found at the National Archives website:
- from 2005 to 2010
- for 2011
- from 2012 onwards
Requests for older data should be sent to [email protected].
6. Technical information
- Following a building materials statistics review of the publication in 2010, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) commissioned the ONS Methodology Advisory Service (MAS) to address some of the recommendations.
- HMRC use administrative sources to produce overseas trade statistics (OTS). A statement of administrative sources used to compile construction material trade statistics is available on the Building Materials and Components webpage. Separately, HMRC also have a statement of administrative sources which covers OTS.
- Since the UK left the EU, there have been changes in the trade data collection methods, for more information see the ONS Impact of trade in goods data collection changes on UK trade statistics.
6.1 Seasonal adjustment
Following advice from the MAS, and the results of a consultation (see the results of the BIS consultation on seasonal adjustment for more detail), BIS agreed to publish seasonally adjusted data for the following series:
- sand and gravel, total sales
- concrete blocks, all types deliveries
- bricks, all types deliveries
- ready-mixed concrete, deliveries
For initial publication of seasonally adjusted data, data from 1983 onwards was seasonally adjusted. Subsequently, for each monthly publication, data up to 12 months or 4 quarters prior to the new data point is revised. Upon the completion of each year’s data series, data for the previous 12 years is revised.
The department publishes both non-seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted data in the tables of this publication. From the June 2015 edition this publication has used seasonally adjusted data in the commentary for these series.
The seasonal adjustment review is carried out yearly. The purpose of correcting the reported series is to update seasonal factors such as winter weather (including the reduction in hours of daylight, and frost and rain) and other seasonal events such as Christmas and Easter. Thus, seasonally adjusted figures show the underlying trend more clearly.
The most recent annual review of seasonal adjustment was carried out in July 2024 for sand and gravel, concrete blocks and bricks data, with only minor changes made to improve the robustness of the process.
6.2 Response rate
The following table gives a summary of response rates related to some of the latest survey results. Where the response rate is less than 100%, estimates are made for missing values.
| For latest data used | Bulletin table number | Response rate |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly sand and gravel | 4 and 5 | 78% |
| Quarterly sand and gravel: land won | 4 and 5 | 76% |
| Quarterly sand and gravel: marine dredged | 4 and 5 | 86% |
| Quarterly concrete roofing tiles | 6 | 67% |
| Quarterly slate | 7 | 89% |
| Monthly bricks data | 9 and 10 | 98% |
| Monthly concrete blocks | 11 and 12 | 78% |
7. Definitions
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Production | Products completed and ready for dispatch |
| Deliveries | Sold products which have left the premises |
| Stocks | Manufacturer’s stocks |
| Sand and gravel- land won | Sand and gravel from pits and quarries, including that derived from beaches and rivers |
| Sand and gravel- marine dredged | Sand and gravel derived from seas and estuaries |
8. Further information
8.1 Future updates to these statistics
The next publication in this series will be on 2 October 2024.
8.2 Pre-release access
Pre-release access is not granted for this publication.
8.3 Related statistics
- Construction statistics: sources and outputs lists the known sources of information available on the construction industry and their outputs. These include information on employees, employment, enterprises, output and new orders in the construction industry as well as the contribution of the industry to the economy. Related information, for example housing, is also included.
- The Construction statistics annual brings together a wide range of statistics currently available on the construction industry from a variety of sources and provides a broad perspective on statistical trends in the construction industry, with some international comparisons.
- In its monthly Index of Production (IoP) publication, the ONS publishes Gross Value Added (seasonally adjusted, UK) data for the following 2 industries:
- SIC 23.1-4/7-9 industry, which includes the manufacture of bricks, tiles and other construction products
- SIC 23.5-6 industry, which includes the manufacture of concrete, cement and other products for construction purposes
These data are not directly comparable with the data in this bulletin, due to differences in coverage and methodology. They are nevertheless useful in illustrating the latest output trends of related construction materials as measured by the ONS.
8.4 Revisions policy
- The DBT statistical error policy can be found on the Building Materials webpage.
- Data can be revised for a number of reasons, including receipt of more data, methodology changes and corrections. Data subject to scheduled revisions are published as provisional. The period for which data are provisional differs depending on material type and is indicated in each table, either by use of [p] markers or in footnotes. When provisional data become final, [p] markers are removed.
- For unscheduled revisions, no revision marker is added, though in the case of substantial revisions a note will be added at the top of the revised table and in the ‘Revisions’ section of the table file.
- Users should download the latest edition of the publication to ensure they have the most up-to-date tables.
8.5 Uses of these statistics
The Building Materials and Components statistics are used for a variety of purposes, including policy development and evaluation concerning the construction products industry, as well as monitoring market trends. In a wider context, the figures are regularly reported in the construction press to facilitate market analysis and business planning for its wide range of readers.
The statistics are also increasingly used by financial institutions for assessing market information and industry trends. For more information on the uses of the Building Materials statistics, their usefulness to users and users’ views on the quality of these statistics, see Section 3 of the Building Materials and Components review.
8.6 User engagement
Users are encouraged to provide comments and feedback on how these statistics are used and how well they meet user needs. Comments on any issues relating to this statistical release are welcomed and should be sent to: [email protected].
The Consultative Committee on Construction Industry Statistics (CCCIS) meets twice a year, chaired by the department, to discuss issues relating to the collection and dissemination of UK construction statistics. The CCCIS has a wide membership representing government, the construction industry and independent analysts. Minutes of previous CCCIS meetings are available from the building materials web page.
The department statement on statistical public engagement and data standards sets out the department’s commitments on public engagement and data standards as outlined by the Code of Practice for Statistics.
8.7 Accreditation of official statistics
Accredited official statistics were previously referred as National Statistics. Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistical Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by OSR in 2011. They comply with the OSR and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website.
Since the latest review by OSR, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:
-
carried out a public consultation and introduced publication of seasonally adjusted data on deliveries of sand and gravel, concrete blocks, bricks, and ready-mixed concrete
-
in response to the cessation of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)’s Annual Minerals Raised Inquiry, which previously supplied the sampling frame for the land-won sand and gravel survey, we have:
- changed the survey from sample survey to a census, increasing the panel from 200 sites to around 500 sites
- refreshed the panel of sites annually using information from the British Geological Survey
- made the survey statutory under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947, bringing it into line with the marine-dredged sand and gravel survey
-
the ONS/MAS review of building materials statistics improved the design of the blocks survey, making it fully monthly instead of a mixture of monthly and quarterly data collection
-
introduced the publication of the tables in an OpenDocument (ODS) spreadsheet, in addition to Microsoft Excel
-
rebased all price indices series to 2015 = 100 in the November 2020 publication
-
in February 2024 we have replaced the previous production process with a reproducible analytical pipeline and consolidated storage of historical data on new SQL databases
-
redesigned tables to conform to The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 legislation
-
redesigned the PDF commentary in HTML, which is more accessible particularly for readers using mobile devices
8.8 Contact
Responsible statistician: Krzysztof Pukacz
Email: [email protected]
Media enquiries: +44 (0)20 7215 2000
Public enquiries: +44 (0)77 4994 8965
© Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit the National archive or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].
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