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: 09/05/2025
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.
May 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(1), 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 and March 2025, which are available to subscribers.
Brick deliveries rise, still down on pre-pandemic level
Brick deliveries (seasonally adjusted) increased by 8.8% in the 12 months to March 2025 and decreased by 11.6% compared with February 2025. Stocks of all types of bricks at the end of March stood at 464.7 million, which was 11.2% less than at the end of March 2024 (523.6 million).
By comparison with pre-pandemic lockdown activity levels, seasonally adjusted brick deliveries in March 2025 were 26.3% lower than in March 2019.
Source: Department for Business & Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 9a
DBT’s report also showed concrete block deliveries (seasonally adjusted) were down by 2.3% in the year to March 2025 and decreased by 6.4% on a monthly basis.
Dr David Crosthwaite, Chief Economist at BCIS, said: ‘With brick and block deliveries up in the previous month but down for March, it’s a further indication, if any were needed, that demand in the sector is currently flatlining.’
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(1) Department of Business and Trade – Building materials and components statistics: material price indices methodology - here
