Confidence, collaboration and connection- these are all tools that the construction industry can utilise to ensure delivery against a variety of adverse conditions, Currie & Brown have found
Built assets are essential to how economies function and communities thrive with confidence. From data centres and delivery hubs, to factories, power networks, schools, and hospitals – these are the places that keep societies moving. They help us care for people, educate the next generation, stay connected and support daily life. They also fuel growth and create the conditions for long-term resilience.
But confidence in the construction sector’s ability to deliver these projects is starting to crack. Economic shifts, supply chain challenges, currency changes and labour shortages are creating more uncertainty. And the impact is being felt far beyond the building site.
A sector under strain
To explore this further, Currie & Brown undertook global research among more than 1,000 senior leaders with direct responsibility for construction and infrastructure projects. The
findings were striking.
On average, decision-makers said they had lost 13.7% of their construction pipeline over the past year because of uncertainty. Based on average pipeline values of $12.9bn, that’s a $2.1bn hit per organisation. When applied to global construction forecasts for 2025, it adds up to more than $2.5tn in lost value.
The effects are being felt close to home. We hear this every day in our conversations with clients, and this anecdotal evidence is reinforced by our data. UK-based respondents said that one in five projects have been cancelled in the last year. Another quarter have been scaled back. A further 26% have been delayed. These numbers show how disruption is holding projects back.
A new reality
While uncertainty has always been part of the construction world, the mix of risks we face today is far more intense and harder to manage.
Material prices are unstable and labour shortages are growing. According to the Construction Industry Training Board, the UK will need to find nearly 240,000 new workers by 2029 just to keep up with demand.
Planning rules are changing too, and not always in clear or consistent ways. On top of this, climate-related disruption and global political instability are making projects harder to plan and deliver.
We’ve seen how quickly shocks can spread. The blockage of the Suez Canal in 2021 disrupted global trade for weeks. Rising energy prices following the war in Ukraine drove up construction costs around the world. These events show how easily things can unravel, and how construction often takes the hit.
Structural weaknesses add pressure
It’s not just outside events causing the disruption. There are long-standing issues inside the sector that make it harder to adapt.
Our research found that problems like unclear roles, poor coordination and incomplete design often make things worse. These gaps lead to delays, cost overruns and projects struggling to recover from early setbacks.
Measuring confidence
We hear about these issues day-to-day, but to better understand the scale and consistency of the problem, we developed the Construction Certainty Index. Built on our global research, the index captures how confident senior leaders feel about delivering construction and infrastructure projects.
Five areas, including time and budget, risk, and technology adoption are scored on a scale from 0 to 100, where higher scores reflect greater delivery confidence and a lower perception of risk.
What stood out was the consistency of the results. Across geographies and sectors, scores clustered closely together. At a country level, India and China topped the index at 61. France scored 49. The UK sat squarely in the middle at 55.
This shows that the challenges aren’t limited to one country or one sector. They are widespread. But while the problems are shared, not everyone is struggling in the same way.
What high performers do differently
Some organisations are better at managing risk than others. They don’t avoid risk, but they are better at dealing with it.
The most confident organisations in our study aren’t contending with fewer problems. Many were working in fast-moving and unpredictable environments. But they had a clear approach that made the difference. They saw delivery certainty as something to build, not hope for.
They planned early, tested their programmes often and set clear goals. They brought delivery teams and stakeholders together around shared objectives. They used data to report on progress and forecast challenges. And they built flexibility into their contracts and procurement processes.
This forward-thinking mindset gave them a real edge.
Our research points to four key areas that help build this resilience:
- Mindset – planning with risk in mind, not just assuming stability
- Technology – using tools with purpose, not for the sake of it
- Data – focusing on quality and context, not just volume
- People – investing early in skills, leadership and strong partnerships
Policy and regulation matter too
Private companies cannot solve this alone. Government and regulators also play a critical role.
In the UK, for example, the Building Safety Act brought in new rules for higher-risk projects. These changes were important for safety. But in many cases, reviews that were meant to take 12 weeks are now taking much longer.
This highlights the challenge. If new rules are not clear or well supported, they can create more uncertainty, not less. What’s needed is a more joined-up approach, with better planning pipelines, clearer rules, and stronger support for modern methods of construction.
The goal should be a more predictable system that helps projects succeed, not one that adds confusion.
Why confidence in construction matters now
Construction is at a turning point. The decisions made today will shape how economies perform in the years ahead.
Delivery confidence is essential for progress. If businesses can’t get the facilities they need on time, growth stalls. If infrastructure doesn’t keep up, communities suffer. If energy and climate goals slip, the cost of delay will be even higher.
And people are watching. Investors, regulators and the public all expect projects to be well planned, well run and clearly delivered. That means the way we deliver matters just as much as what we deliver.
In this climate, certainty has become one of the most valuable assets of all.
From insight to action
The construction sector has both a challenge and an opportunity. There’s no question that the risks are real. But with the right mindset, tools and leadership, they can be managed.
By investing in planning, capability and trusted partnerships, the industry can deliver better outcomes. Not just faster builds, but stronger, safer, more sustainable ones. The cost of delay is high. But the rewards for getting this right are even higher.
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