MPA figures report that the concrete market is facing historic lows across all major mineral products, with mortar the sole exception
New figures from the Mineral Products Association (MPA), based on actual market sales volumes across Great Britain in the last quarter, found that asphalt volumes over the last four quarters are the lowest in a decade and that concrete volumes have fallen to lows last seen in 1963.
The news does not bode well for Labour’s 1.5m new homes target, which increasingly looks likely to be missed.
Aggregates and mortar sales also fell in Q2 2025
Ready-mixed concrete volumes dropped by 11.5% to just 2.7m cubic metres (Mm³) in Q2 2025. Over the last four quarters (Q3 2024 to Q2 2025), total sales were 11.9 Mm³. The last time Britain’s annual concrete volume was this low was 1963.
Volumes across all major mineral products other than mortar are now at historically low levels, tracking below last year’s already weak volumes.
Poor concrete sales will have a detrimental effect on cement sales, warns the MPA
Reductions in sales of concrete will have had a knock-on impact on cement sales which are not covered by this data but are reported separately. The most recent set of cement data, for 2023, showed weak sales but, more significantly, near record-low domestic production with an unprecedented proportion of imports, at 32% of the UK market.
This is largely driven by high electricity prices, high labour costs and a burdensome regulatory environment, according to the MPA.
Confidence across the sector was already low, but has evaporated in response to these pressures
Producers point to a chronic lack of new large and small-scale infrastructure projects, hampered by slow, delayed or deferred investment decisions, cost pressures and sluggish regulatory processes.
The HS2 ‘reset’ looks set to have a negative impact on demand this year, while roads delivery continues to be plagued by uncertainty. July’s cancellation of the A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening and the A47 Wansford to Sutton schemes followed five other project cancellations in last year’s Budget to further damage confidence in infrastructure delivery.
In housing, MPA members continue to report weak activity, particularly in London and other major cities. While lower interest rates have eased mortgage costs, persistent affordability pressures, high inflation and growing job insecurity continue to weigh on buyer confidence. Mortar sales, closely tied to early-stage housebuilding, fell by 2.7% in Q2, ending four consecutive quarters of growth. Delays at the Building Safety Regulator with the new Gateway 2 approval process are delaying high-rise housing developments.
Aurelie Delannoy said: “This quarter’s data offers a stark reminder that market conditions remain incredibly challenging for the mineral products sector. A fourth consecutive year of declining sales is now a serious risk, including to jobs.
Table 1. MPA sales volumes in GB: change on the previous period in the concrete market(seasonally adjusted)
| Asphalt | Ready-mixed concrete | Crushed rock | Sand & Gravel | Mortar | |
| 2022 | -6.4% | -3.7% | -7.7% | -9.2% | 3.5% |
| 2023 | -6.9% | -6.5% | -4.2% | -7.2% | -15.0% |
| 2024 | -2.5% | -10.9% | -0.4% | -7.9% | -15.0% |
| 2024 Q3 | -1.6% | 0.9% | -1.0% | 3.5% | 2.1% |
| 2024 Q4 | 0.2% | 5.4% | 0.1% | 2.9% | 2.4% |
| 2025 Q1 | -6.2% | -5.1% | -1.5% | 5.9% | 3.8% |
| 2025 Q2 | 5.8% | -11.5% | -1.3% | -11.7% | -2.7% |
“What we are seeing is not just the challenge of a specific industry market; it is a broader signal of a UK construction sector and national economy stuck in first gear, hampered by weak confidence, patchy project delivery and a chronic lack of tangible demand. Despite the Government’s positive long-term announcements, businesses are still waiting for any concrete signs that the UK is ready to invest and to build again.”
The MPA is urging the Government to make immediate priority measures, such as:
- Ruling out further tax rises on business to dampen fears
- A stronger focus on infrastructure delivery, not just long-term strategic ambition
- Increasing planning capacity
- Significant improvement in performance at the Building Safety Regulator including a swift resolution of Gateway 2 delays
- Pushing regulators to focus on growth
- Reintroducing the super-deduction to support business investment
- Ensuring that public procurement for infrastructure supports domestic supply
- Incentivising housing delivery
- Delivering bankable commitment on CCUS for the long term
- Deliver a robust carbon border adjustment mechanism
“The underlying problem is a total lack of business confidence”
MPA executive chair, Chris Leese, added: “Many of our members are telling us that the current trading conditions are the most difficult they have ever experienced, including the 2007–08 financial crisis, while in concrete the data shows it’s the worst in a lifetime with no signs of recovery.
“The underlying problem is a total lack of business confidence leading to a lack of investment required to kickstart activity. The mineral products industry literally provides the foundations for the whole economy, employing 80,000 hard-working people in high-value, high-productivity jobs across the country, but in the current climate our members will have no option other than to mothball capacity and rationalise their businesses.
“Construction is a vital force for growth in the UK economy and these sales figures are a clear indicator that action is required. We need action now to unlock stalled projects, back the businesses that will build them, and break out of this cycle of weak growth and high costs. Our members are not only ready to deliver; they are also increasingly impatient for the right conditions that would create the opportunity to do so.”
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