Latest construction new orders figures

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes quarterly data⁽¹⁾ measuring the value and volume of main contractors’ new orders in Great Britain by sector and type of work. Its intention is to provide a forward-looking snapshot of both current confidence and potential future activity in the construction industry.

New orders up in third quarter of 2025

Total construction new orders increased by 9.8% in 3Q2025 compared with 2Q2025, with £12 billion worth of work committed to, according to the latest ONS data. On an annual basis, new orders were up by almost one-third (29.3%) on the same quarter last year.

Private industrial work saw the strongest growth, with new orders more than doubling the value of those in the previous quarter (114.1%), while private commercial new orders were up 51.4% on the quarter.

Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘Perhaps this is a signal that private investors have finally got their cheque books out, although it should be noted that the new orders series is notoriously volatile and doesn’t appear to correlate that well with future output.’

Although public housing new orders were up 10.4% on the quarter and 72.3% on an annual basis, private housing has a less promising pipeline – down by 5.1% compared with 2Q2025. Although private housing new orders were up 9.1% on the year, this was due to the sharp decline in new orders recorded in 3Q2024, the lowest it had been since the pandemic lockdown.

^{Source: ONS – New Orders for construction: volume seasonally adjusted growth rates, by main contractor, by sector, constant prices, Table 2}

^{Source: ONS – New Orders for construction: volume seasonally adjusted growth rates, by main contractor, by sector, constant prices, Table 2}

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^{(1) Office for National Statistics – New orders in the construction industry  - here}