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Construction product manufacturers endured a bruising end to 2025, with heavyside sales sliding sharply and lightside growth losing momentum, the Construction Products Association’s latest State of Trade Survey shows.
In Q4, a net balance of 81% of heavyside producers said sales volumes fell compared with the previous quarter, which was the weakest result since the depths of the pandemic in Q2 2020. Volumes were also down year-on-year.
On the lightside, conditions were more resilient, although far from buoyant. A balance of 13% of firms reported higher sales, the softest performance for 18 months.
Manufacturers were also battling ongoing cost inflation, from wages and salaries, while heavyside firms in particular saw higher taxes, fuel and energy costs.
When asked what could hold back activity and any recovery over the next 12 months, the most common answer was demand.
Rebecca Larkin, CPA head of construction research, said uncertainty ahead of the late Autumn Budget had added another layer of hesitation to a market already characterised by caution.
“Demand from construction was clearly held back by uncertainty over the late Autumn Budget during the quarter,” she said. “This combined with the long-running caution that had characterised sentiment for most of the year and held back large new build project starts, house building and home improvements spending which, in turn, has limited demand for heavy side products in particular,” she said.
“Even though there turned out to be no major tax rises announced for the near term in the Budget, product manufacturers are still contending with the impact of the government’s previous fiscal decisions that have raised the business tax burden and increased labour costs. At a time when there are no tangible signs of demand improving, the warning lights are starting to flash for the construction supply chain.”
