RICS Q2 construction survey: infrastructure-led stabilisation for project teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
UK construction workloads showed a modest stabilisation in Q2 2026, with the RICS headline net balance improving to –4% from –12%, driven by infrastructure rather than building sectors. Energy infrastructure reported the strongest gains with a +39% net balance, followed by water and sewerage at +23%, while private housing fell to –12% and private industrial to –9%, signalling continued weakness in development-led work. Financial constraints (67% of respondents) and planning/regulation (61%) remain the main brakes, and although 12‑month infrastructure expectations rose to +34%, profit margin expectations are still negative at –10%.
Technical Brief
- RICS Construction Monitor drew on 1,135 individual responses for the 2Q2026 dataset.
- Net balance metric ranges from –100 (all reporting falls) to +100 (all reporting rises).
- Energy infrastructure workloads showed the largest positive net balance shift quarter-on-quarter within infrastructure.
- Private commercial workloads at –7% and private industrial at –9% indicate subdued demand for new sheds/plants.
- Materials shortages were cited by 25% of respondents, up from 18% in 1Q2026, signalling renewed supply tightness.
- Financial constraints (67%) and planning/regulation (61%) outscored insufficient demand as obstacles, constraining project starts more than market appetite.
- Profit margin expectations, although improved from –27% to –10%, still imply aggressive tendering and limited contingency capacity.
Our Take
The move from a negative workloads net balance in Q4 2025 in the earlier RICS UK Construction Monitor to a positive 12‑month infrastructure expectations balance of 34% signals that UK contractors may start cautiously rebuilding order books, but will still be constrained by finance and planning bottlenecks rather than labour or materials availability.
Energy infrastructure showing the strongest net balance in this RICS survey aligns with our wider UK infrastructure coverage, where grid upgrades, renewables connections and energy security projects are increasingly driving civils work pipelines relative to commercial building.
With 61% of respondents citing planning and regulation as an obstacle, the survey underlines that for UK infrastructure projects, early-stage consenting strategy and programme risk allowances are now as critical to delivery as traditional cost and schedule controls.
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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