Construct UK

All @The Dock Tech Campus 1 America Square 1 Birdcage Walk 1 Great George Street 1 Moorgate Place 1 Wimpole Street Meeting Rooms 12 Great George Street 150 Holborn 155 Bishopsgate, London 15Hatfields 22 Bishopsgate 30 Euston Square 8 Northumberland Avenue 99 City Road, London Abertay University ACC, Liverpool Action Stations, Portsmouth Addleshaw Goddard, London Address Hotel, Dubai, UAE Airport, Manchester Alex Hotel Alex Hotel, Dublin Alexandra Palace, London Algeria Alpen Gold Hotel...

All @The Dock Tech Campus 1 America Square 1 Birdcage Walk 1 Great George Street 1 Moorgate Place 1 Wimpole Street Meeting Rooms 12 Great George Street 150 Holborn 155 Bishopsgate, London 15Hatfields 22 Bishopsgate 30 Euston Square 8 Northumberland Avenue 99 City Road, London Abertay University ACC, Liverpool Action Stations, Portsmouth Addleshaw Goddard, London Address Hotel, Dubai, UAE Airport, Manchester Alex Hotel Alex Hotel, Dublin Alexandra Palace, London Algeria Alpen Gold Hotel...

Key Findings: Sharp decline in residential work Slower reductions in new orders and employment Input price inflation eases to six-month low August data indicated a sustained downturn in business activity across the UK construction sector, led by weakness in the residential building segment.

Key Findings: Total Activity Index slumps to 37.3, its lowest level in more than six years Sharper declines in new business and employment Year-ahead expectations turn more pessimistic France’s construction sector downturn intensified during August, according to the latest PMI® survey data from S&P Global, as total activity shrank at the sharpest rate since May 2020. Weakness was the most pronounced in the residential and commercial construction sub-sectors, detailed data showed.

Key Findings: Rapid reductions in work on residential and commercial buildings Purchasing activity down sharply amid solid drop in new orders Trend of job creation sustained as sentiment improves, but subcontractor usage falls steeply August PMI® data signalled a steep decline across the Italian construction sector, with activity down sharply amid a solid dip in sales.

Key findings: New orders contract at fastest pace since April Employment falls again as outlook remains pessimistic Cost pressures continue to soften Construction firms in the eurozone saw the pace of decline in total activity accelerate in August amid a sharper contraction in new business. New order intakes decreased at the quickest rate in four months, while all three monitored sub-sectors saw sustained falls in activity midway through the third quarter.

Key findings: Total Industry Activity Index hits eight-month high of 48.7 Work on commercial projects rises for first time in over a year Cost inflation ticks up from July’s five-month low August saw a marked slowdown in the rate of decline in construction activity across Germany, the latest S&P Global PMI® survey data showed. The result partly reflected a renewed increase in work on commercial activity, the first in over a year.

The latest Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index (PHMI) report shows like-for-like Q2 value sales, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days, were -0.2% lower than Q2 2025. Like-for-like volume sales were down -7.8%. With no difference in trading days, unadjusted total Q2 value sales were also -0.2% lower with unadjusted volume sales decreasing -7.8%. Prices were up +8.2%. Quarter-on-quarter, like-for-like Q2 value sales dropped -9.2% compared to Q1 2026. Like-for-like volume sales were down -6.7%.

The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report reveals builders’ merchants’ Q2 2026 like-for-like value sales, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days, -1.2% lower than Q2 2025. Like-for-like volume sales were down -6.6%, but prices increased +5.8%. With no difference in trading days, unadjusted Q2 total value sales were also down -1.2% year-on-year. By value, only three of the twelve categories sold more: Services (+7.3%), Workwear & Safetywear (+4.5%) and Miscellaneous (+2.3%).

Dr Lee Jones, Head of Sustainability at Hubexo NBS, looks at what whole-life reporting means for product manufacturers and suppliers. Over the last decade, construction has made real progress on mitigating operational carbon. And it's true, today's buildings are better insulated and heat pumps are regularly specified, while clients are asking much tougher questions about in-use performance than they were five years ago.