Early signs of recovery for construction product manufacturing in UK

The Construction Products Association’s (CPA) latest State of Trade Survey reported that a balance of 30% of heavy side manufacturers saw an increase in product sales in Q2 2024 as compared to Q1 2024. That was the first quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, 13% of light side manufacturers also reported a rise in product sales in Q2 2024.

However, 56% of heavy side manufacturers and 49% of light side manufacturers said “demand” was the key concern for sales over the next 12 months.

And 29% of heavy side manufacturers also cited “labour availability” as a concern, which was the highest proportion on record. The proportion was 27% for light side manufacturers.

Rebecca Larkin, CPA head of construction research said, “After an extended period of declining sales, particularly on the heavy side, encouragingly we are now seeing the green shoots of recovery. For the heavy side this was the first quarterly growth recorded in two years and given this context, it is perhaps not surprising that sales volumes were still reported lower when comparing to a year earlier given the longer-running weakness experienced by product manufacturers feeding into a slower residential construction sector.

“While cuts in interest rates are expected to be the catalyst for a recovery in the two largest sectors of construction, private housing and private housing repair, maintenance and improvement, manufacturers continue to highlight both demand-side and supply-side challenges. In common with construction, one of the industry’s biggest longer-term issues will be attracting and retaining workers.”