Latest building materials and components statistics

Each month the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) publishes a selection of building materials and components data for Great Britain including statistics on bricks and concrete blocks production, deliveries and stocks⁽¹⁾.

Block deliveries rise as brick decline deepens

Provisional data published by DBIST show brick deliveries (seasonally adjusted) in Great Britain decreased by 15.4% in the 12 months to September 2026.

Deliveries were also down by 4.0% on the previous month and remained below the level recorded in pre-pandemic September 2019 by 40.4%.

Stocks of all types of bricks at the end of September 2026 stood at 546.6 million, an increase of 9.5% on the end of September 2025 (499.2 million) and 39.5% on the level in September 2019 (391.7 million).

^{Source: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 9a}

Conversely, DBIST data showed concrete block deliveries (seasonally adjusted) in Great Britain in September 2026 increased on the previous month by 2.9%. Compared with the level in September 2025, deliveries had also increased by 0.5% but fallen by 23.7% on September 2019.

Total stocks of concrete blocks stood at 9.2 million square metres’ worth at the end of September, an increase of 44.3% on September 2025 and 28.1% higher than the level in September 2019.

Elsewhere, provisional DBIST data revealed 10.6 million tonnes of sand and gravel were sold in Great Britain in 3Q2026, an increase of 13.6% on the previous quarter which currently holds the record for lowest quarterly sales shown in published data.

Sales in the third quarter of 2026 were also up by 4.1% on the year but were fewer by 27.1% compared with pre-pandemic 3Q2019.

^{Source: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 4a}

Meanwhile, the latest data show seasonally adjusted deliveries of ready-mixed concrete in 2Q2026 (2.7 million cubic metres worth) were down by 6.1% on 2Q2025 and by more than one-third on deliveries in the same quarter in 2019.

^{Source: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 6a}

Sam Parkin, senior economist at BCIS, said: ‘The latest figures are slightly more encouraging than those from recent months, with increases recorded for concrete block deliveries in September and aggregate sales in the third quarter.

‘However, we should be cautious about reading too much into these increases. Brick deliveries still recorded substantial monthly and annual declines in September, while longer-term trends continue to point to weaker activity in construction materials transactions, consistent with subdued demand across the sector.

‘The Autumn Budget brought some welcome news in the form of measures aimed at supporting both supply and demand, but considerable uncertainty remains over how much of an impact they will have on construction activity.

‘The government was relatively constrained in what it could deliver. Its priority now should be to monitor how effective the announced measures prove to be, listen to industry feedback and, where feasible, intervene further if they fail to deliver the intended improvements.’

Demand for key construction materials recorded a modest improvement in 3Q2026 according to the Mineral Products Association (MPA)⁽²⁾. Higher sales volumes for aggregates, concrete, asphalt and mortar followed a four-year decline which the MPA attributes to persistent weakness in housebuilding and other private sector construction.

MPA chief executive Paul Adeleke warned that the construction downturn is far from over, describing the Autumn Budget as a missed opportunity to get construction activity and economic growth back on track.

The Budget included several measures aimed at stimulating demand and easing viability pressures, particularly in housebuilding. These included further details of the new first-time buyer scheme, an additional £1.5 billion for social and affordable housing, and a pledge to consider more proportionate regulation. While industry leaders broadly welcomed these measures, concerns remain that they will not go far enough to ease viability pressures.

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^{(1) Building materials and components statistics: October 2026  -  here}

^{(2) MPA – Downturn “far from over” despite rise in materials sales and “missed opportunity” Budget  -  here}