BCIS CapX provides a comprehensive, detailed and easy-to-use method of measuring cost movement for building and civil engineering. Widely used in the construction and infrastructure sector to help fairly allocate risk between the client and sub-contractors.
Published: 04/06/2025
Each month the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) publishes construction material price indices, categorised under All Work, New Housing, Other New Work and Repair and Maintenance, as well as tracking a selection of building materials and components for the UK, and providing statistics on bricks and concrete blocks production, deliveries and stock for Great Britain(1).
June 2025: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has paused publication of its Producer Price Index (PPIs), which has in turn led to DBT pausing publication of new data in its Construction Material Price Indices.
BCIS data, which is used in the compilation of the DBT indices, has also been impacted by the ONS pausing. Until PPI publication resumes in the summer, BCIS is using internal PPI modelling to estimate provisional values. As such, BCIS has published estimated figures for DBT Construction Material Price Indices: All Work, Housing, New Work, Repair and Maintenance for February to April 2025, which are available to subscribers.
Brick deliveries rise, still down on pre-pandemic level
Brick deliveries (seasonally adjusted) increased by 10.4% in the 12 months to April 2025, but remained the same as in March 2025. Stocks of all types of bricks at the end of April stood at 484.2 million, which was 6.8% less than at the end of April 2024 (519.3 million).
By comparison with pre-pandemic lockdown activity levels, seasonally adjusted brick deliveries in April 2025 were 28.6% lower than in April 2019.
Source: Department for Business & Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 9a
DBT’s report also showed concrete block deliveries (seasonally adjusted) were up by 13.4% in the year to April 2025 and increased by 5.2% on a monthly basis.
Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘While positive, the increase in brick and block deliveries on the year is not a strong indication that demand is picking up. On a monthly basis, brick deliveries remain unchanged on the levels seen in March and both remain well below pre-pandemic levels.’
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(1) GOV.UK – Accredited official statistics Building materials and components statistics: May 2025 - here
