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Published: 04/06/2026
Each month the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) publishes construction materials price indices (CMPIs), categorised under All Work, New Housing, Other New Work and Repair and Maintenance, as well as tracking a selection of building materials and components for the UK(1). BCIS data is used in the compilation of the DBT indices(2).
Construction materials prices see sustained growth in April
Construction materials prices for All Work rose by 3.2% in the 12 months to April 2026, according to the latest provisional data published by DBT.
New Housing also recorded a 3.2% increase while Other New Work rose by 3.4%, and Repair and Maintenance increased by 3.3% when comparing April 2026 with April 2025.
DBT’s CMPIs are compiled using a combination of resource cost indices produced and published by BCIS. These are based on BCIS Price Adjustment Formulae Indices (PAFI).
Source: Department for Business and Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 1a
Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘The latest construction materials and producer price data suggest that inflationary pressures are becoming more concentrated within the supply chain.
‘While overall construction activity remains subdued, manufacturers and suppliers continue to face cost pressures from energy, labour and logistics, which are feeding through into materials prices. This creates a challenging environment for contractors, who are having to absorb higher input costs against a backdrop of relatively weak workload growth and continued geopolitical conflict.’
DBT data show that prices for fabricated structural steel recorded the greatest inflation in the 12 months to April 2026, up by 8.5%. This was followed by a 7.7% rise in prices for gravel, sand, clays and kaolin (including the Aggregate Levy).
Prices for concrete reinforcing bars (steel) saw the steepest annual decrease of all resources measured with a 5.2% fall.
Source: Department for Business and Trade – Building materials and components statistics, Table 2. * DBT advises index values should not be relied upon for long-term contractual purposes, as they are based on relatively few quotes.
On a monthly basis, the greatest price increase was a 4.8% rise in pipes and fittings (rigid) prices. The steepest decrease was a 2.4% fall in prices for central heating boilers.
The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report(3), which analyses market trends using data from the Builders Merchant Panel produced by GfK (Growth from Knowledge), a subsidiary of NielsenIQ (NiQ), suggests that rising prices for building materials and components are being driven by supply-side pressures and inflation, rather than underlying demand.
The latest report shows that builders merchant like-for-like sales volumes in 1Q2026 were 8.1% lower than in 1Q2025, while average prices increased by 5.4% over the same period. According to the BMBI, this continues a trend that began in November.
The Heavy Building Materials category, which includes aggregates, blocks, bricks and roofing products, was a significant contributor to this trend in the first quarter. Sales volumes in the category fell by 11.8% year-on-year, while average prices increased by 5.7%.
‘The divergence between declining sales volumes and rising prices reported by the BMBI reinforces the view that the market is currently being shaped more by supply-side inflation than by demand-led growth,’ Dr Crosthwaite added.
‘The particularly sharp fall in Heavy Building Materials volumes points to ongoing weakness in new build activity. Taken together, these trends indicate that underlying construction demand remains fragile amid persistent inflation in key product categories.’
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