Drop in brick deliveries signals ‘weak’ demand for housebuilding
Written by admin on October 2, 2025
A fall in brick deliveries has raised fears of continued “weak” demand in the housebuilding sector.
The latest building material statistics from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) shows that deliveries of bricks decreased by 5.2 per cent in August compared with August 2024.
They also fell by 3.3 per cent compared with July.
Rebecca Larkin, head of construction research at the Construction Products Association, said the figures raise a question mark over when the housebuilding recovery will begin.
“While there is often a dip in summer, this fall seems to echo what has been reported throughout the supply chain – that housing market demand and housebuilding activity still remains weak,” she told Construction News.
“For the year to date, brick deliveries are one-quarter lower than they were at the peak of activity that occurred in the same period of 2022.
“Back then, we had Help to Buy, a stamp duty holiday and some of the lowest interest rates on record. There’s little to support demand now, which adds to the question of when the recovery will start to take off.”
The latest housing sector analysis from intelligence provider Glenigan noted that project starts fell by 10 per cent year on year in August, alongside a 44 per cent drop in main contract awards and a 42 per cent fall in detailed planning approvals.
But the latest DBT data, released this morning, shows that deliveries of concrete blocks rose by 2.7 per cent in August compared with the previous year, and by 7.6 per cent compared with July.
Other figures show sales of sand and gravel decreased by 2.9 per cent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025 compared with the previous three-month period.
Ready-mixed concrete sales also decreased by 4.3 per cent over the same period.
Import and exports of construction materials each increased, however. Exports rose by £111m in Q2 compared with Q1, rising by 5.2 per cent from £2.15bn to £2.26bn.
Imports increased by £245m in the same period, with 4.4 per cent growth from £5.58bn to £5.82bn.
Last month, the Office for National Statistics reported that total construction output grew by 0.6 per cent in the three months to July 2025 and said new work had increased by 1 per cent.
However, the Bank of England has warned that construction activity remains modestly down on last year, although it said there were signs that public projects and housing investment will support a return to modest growth in 2026.
