Concrete demand hits 75-year low: delivery and design impacts for UK project teams
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Concrete demand in the UK fell 9.9% in 2025 to its lowest level since the early 1950s, with aggregates down 1.6% and asphalt 1.1%, while mortar rose 5.2% but lost momentum in the second half, according to Mineral Products Association data. Ready-mixed concrete sales in London dropped 27% in 2025 and now sit 39% below 2023 levels, hit by stalled residential and commercial schemes and Building Safety Regulator-related planning delays. MPA warns that mothballed sites, deferred investment and job risks threaten long-term domestic supply capacity, with no market upturn expected in 2026.
Technical Brief
- MPA data show 2025 marked the fourth consecutive annual contraction in core mineral product demand.
- Weak demand plus rising input costs are driving capacity cuts, mothballing of plants and deferred capital spend.
- MPA warns many heavy materials (e.g. aggregates, ready-mix constituents) are not realistically import-substitutable at scale.
- Planning delays linked to Building Safety Regulator backlogs are stalling high-rise schemes, prolonging low early-stage materials demand.
- Housebuilding normally consumes ~25% of construction aggregates and ~30% of ready-mixed concrete, magnifying the impact of residential slowdown.
Our Take
The UK-focused nature of this piece stands out in our 610 Infrastructure stories, where most concrete and aggregates coverage has recently shifted toward emerging markets; that signals how unusual it is to see a mature market like Britain back at early‑1950s production levels.
With housebuilding accounting for almost 25% of construction aggregates demand and around 30% of ready-mixed concrete demand, the 5.2% rise in mortar sales in 2025 suggests materials producers may increasingly pivot capacity and logistics toward residential and small‑scale urban work rather than large civil schemes.
The combination of a forecast 9.9% fall in concrete demand and the cancellation of 10 major UK road schemes implies that quarries and concrete plants tied to national infrastructure corridors will face sharper volume and pricing pressure than those serving London and other resilient metropolitan repair and maintenance markets.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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