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Published: 08/05/2026
Each month the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) publishes a selection of building materials and components data for Great Britain including statistics on bricks and concrete blocks production, deliveries and stocks(1).
Brick deliveries down as stocks reach 28-month high
Provisional data published by DBT show brick deliveries (seasonally adjusted) in Great Britain decreased by 3.6% in the 12 months to March 2026. Conversely, deliveries in March increased by 5.4% on February.
Compared with pre-pandemic March 2019, seasonally adjusted brick deliveries in March 2026 were fewer by 29.0%.
Stocks of all types of bricks at the end of March 2026 stood at 565.3 million, the highest level since November 2023. Stocks in March were up by 21.3% on the end of March 2025 (466.1 million) and by 44.1% on the level in pre-pandemic March 2019 (392.4 million).
Source: Department for Business and Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 9a
DBT’s report also showed concrete block deliveries (seasonally adjusted) in Great Britain were down by 3.3% in the year to March 2026 but increased by 5.9% on a monthly basis. Compared with March 2019, deliveries were down by 25.8%.
Total stocks of concrete blocks stood at 9.5 million square metres’ worth at the end of March, an increase of 38.0% on March 2025 and 20.4% compared with March 2019.
Elsewhere, DBT data going back to 2013 show a longer-term decline in sand and gravel sales and ready-mixed concrete deliveries (both seasonally adjusted).
In 1Q2026, 9.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel were sold in Great Britain, the lowest level on record, 2Q2020 excepted. Sales in the first quarter of 2026 were down by 7.9% on the year and by 34.5% compared with pre-pandemic 1Q2019.
Source: Department for Business and Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 4a
Meanwhile, deliveries of ready-mixed concrete in 2025 (11 million cubic metres) were fewer by 10.1% on 2024 and by almost one-third on deliveries in 2019 and 2015.
Source: Department for Business and Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 6a
Economic data from the Mineral Productions Association (MPA)(2) indicate that demand for core construction materials remains weak, with low sales of concrete, aggregates and mortar in 1Q2026 prolonging a four-year downturn.
MPA commentary cited weaknesses in the housing and commercial markets as constraints on materials demand, compounded by higher borrowing costs and uncertainty.
Dr Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘Material suppliers are being squeezed by weak demand and rising costs, which is undermining their opportunity for recovery in the near term.
‘It remains crucial that the government does everything within its power to support and stimulate construction demand, particularly as volatility in energy markets is largely beyond its control. For clients and contractors, close collaboration to set realistic cost and programme expectations is essential, not only to ensure projects remain viable, but also to help safeguard the long-term resilience of the supply chains on which the industry depends.’
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