Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
The UK construction products manufacturing industry gained little traction in the third quarter of 2025, according to the Construction Products Association’s latest State of Trade Survey.
Whilst there was growth in sales volumes reported over the quarter for both heavy side and light side manufacturers, the survey shows that, on balance, heavy side sales were still lower than the same quarter of 2024.
The survey also showed that manufacturers are facing continued cost inflation. Wages & salaries, raw materials and energy costs were all reported higher in Q3, indicating that the rise in employer National Insurance contributions in April has also been a significant driver of input cost inflation. Taxes were the primary cost increase for heavy side manufacturers.
CPA head of construction research Rebecca Larkin, said: “The prospect of a quick recovery appears unlikely, given that the majority (78%) of heavy side firms anticipated that sales will remain flat in Q4 and 17% of light side firms anticipated that sales would fall, marking the first negative balance in two years. Weak growth in heavy side sales reflects fewer construction project starts, which now seems to be leading to smaller pipelines of work at the finishing stages too. Speculation and concern around what measures will be announced in the Autumn Budget later this month and, crucially, where the burden of any tax rises will fall, is playing on the minds of all firms in the construction supply chain and prolonging a climate of uncertainty that means a recovery is only likely to begin in 2026.”
