Construction Output Price Indices (OPIs) from January 2014 to December 2024, UK. Summary.

From 2015 to the first quarter of 2024, the construction output prices of public and private housing increased by 46 percent in the United Kingdom (UK). Meanwhile, the prices of industrial buildings increased by 41 percent, and infrastructure prices by 37 percent. Housing and industrial are the segments that increased the most during that period. Balfour Beatty ranked in the past years as the construction firm with the largest revenue in the UK.

The construction output price in the United Kingdom has reached an annual growth rate of two percent in September 2024. Construction costs have been increasing at a lower rate than in 2022 and 2023. The year-over-year growth rate reached over 10 percent in May and June of 2022. Public and private housing was the construction segment with the highest output price increase. How have material costs developed over the years? Several factors influence construction material costs, including supply and demand, regulatory requirements, and transportation logistics. Manufacturing efficiency and global trade policies also play a big part, along with economic factors like inflation and currency fluctuations. In June 2022, the price of construction materials for new houses in the UK were 53 percent higher than in 2015. What is the largest component of those costs? Labor costs are often one of the largest expenses in construction projects. That is due to the skilled nature of the work, which has a high demand for specialized trades. The construction sector's labor costs accounted for around 58 percent of the sector's earnings in the United Kingdom in 2023. In the past years, the size of labor costs as a share of the construction sector rose by more than three percentage points, indicating that labor costs have increased at a faster rate than the overall revenue of the industry.

United Kingdom Construction Material Price Index: Repair and Maintenance data was reported at 122.600 2010=100 in Oct 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 122.200 2010=100 for Sep 2018. United Kingdom Construction Material Price Index: Repair and Maintenance data is updated monthly, averaging 108.200 2010=100 from Jan 2008 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 130 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 122.600 2010=100 in Oct 2018 and a record low of 88.600 2010=100 in Jan 2008. United Kingdom Construction Material Price Index: Repair and Maintenance data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.I028: Construction Material Price Index: 2010=100.

Building materials made of steel, copper and other metals had some of the highest price growth rates in the U.S. in early 2025 in comparison to the previous year. The growth rate of the cost of several construction materials was slightly lower than in late 2024. It is important to note, though, that the figures provided are Producer Price Indices, which cover production within the United States, but do not include imports or tariffs. This might matter for lumber, as Canada's wood production is normally large enough that the U.S. can import it from its neighboring country. Construction material prices in the United Kingdom Similarly to these trends in the U.S., at that time the price growth rate of construction materials in the UK were generally lower 2024 than in 2023. Nevertheless, the cost of some construction materials in the UK still rose that year, with several of those items reaching price growth rates of over **** percent. Considering that those materials make up a very big share of the costs incurred for a construction project, those developments may also have affected the average construction output price in the UK. Construction material shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic During the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic, there often were supply problems and material shortages, which created instability in the construction market. According to a survey among construction contractors, the construction materials most affected by shortages in the U.S. during most of 2021 were steel and lumber. This was also a problem on the other side of the Atlantic: The share of building construction companies experiencing shortages in Germany soared between March and June 2021, staying at high levels for over a year. Meanwhile, the shortage of material or equipment was one of the main factors limiting the building activity in France in June 2022.

United Kingdom Construction Material Price Index: New Housing data was reported at 122.200 2010=100 in Oct 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 122.000 2010=100 for Sep 2018. United Kingdom Construction Material Price Index: New Housing data is updated monthly, averaging 107.950 2010=100 from Jan 2008 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 130 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 122.200 2010=100 in Oct 2018 and a record low of 90.600 2010=100 in Jan 2008. United Kingdom Construction Material Price Index: New Housing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.I028: Construction Material Price Index: 2010=100.

This dataset contains the indices of UK hourly Construction Wage Costs (quarterly; not seasonally adjusted; 2000 = 100) and UK Construction Material Prices for New Housing, Other New Work, Repair and Maintenance, and All Work (monthly; 2010 = 100).

Construction Material Prices

The construction market intelligence (CMI) unit publication, ‘Monthly statistics of building materials and components’, presents the latest detailed information on selected building materials and contains monthly data on price indices, bricks, cement and concrete blocks. It also contains quarterly data on sand and gravel, slate, concrete roofing tiles, ready-mixed concrete and imports and exports of construction products.

Data are derived from a Department for Business, Innovation & Skills monthly Building Materials and Components statistical release.

Construction Wage Costs

The Index of Labour Costs per Hour (ILCH) is a measure of the cost of having an employee for an hour of work. It represents the total cost of employing an individual, which is primarily the earnings of the employee, but also includes non-wage costs. It is also known as the Labour Cost Index (LCI); the index is produced by all member countries of the EU and collated by Eurostat.

Data are derived from ONS data releases found here.

Price quote data (for locally collected data only) and consumption segment indices that underpin consumer price inflation statistics, giving users access to the detailed data that are used in the construction of the UK’s inflation figures. The data are being made available for research purposes only and are not an accredited official statistic. From October 2024, private school fees and part-time education classes have been included in the consumption segment indices file. For more information on the introduction of consumption segments, please see the Consumer Prices Indices Technical Manual, 2019. Note that this dataset was previously called the consumer price inflation item indices and price quotes dataset.

The prices of many construction materials in the United Kingdom kept increasing in 2024, but more moderately than in previous years. There were also several building materials whose prices fell that year. One of the most extreme examples was the price of flexible plastic pipes and fittings, which rose by over ** percent that year. The price of a couple steel products fell by over ** percent that year. In late 2024, copper-based products were among the building materials with the highest price increases in the U.S.

The price of construction aggregates have increased significantly in the United Kingdom in 2022. Prices of bituminous mixtures based on natural and artificial stone grew at a slower rate until 2021, after which a significant growth rate in prices was observed in 2022. The price of gravel, sand, clay, and kaolin, including levy in 2022 was nearly 53 percent higher than in 2015.

United Kingdom PPI: Input: 90=100: Construction Materials data was reported at 125.700 1990=100 in Aug 1998. This records a decrease from the previous number of 125.900 1990=100 for Jul 1998. United Kingdom PPI: Input: 90=100: Construction Materials data is updated monthly, averaging 112.550 1990=100 from Jan 1990 (Median) to Aug 1998, with 104 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 126.100 1990=100 in Jun 1998 and a record low of 96.900 1990=100 in Jan 1990. United Kingdom PPI: Input: 90=100: Construction Materials data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.I018: Producer Price Index: SIC 2003: 2005=100: Input.

United Kingdom New Construction Order (NCO): Volume Index: sa: Total data was reported at 65.400 2005=100 in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 70.000 2005=100 for Mar 2018. United Kingdom New Construction Order (NCO): Volume Index: sa: Total data is updated quarterly, averaging 87.250 2005=100 from Mar 1964 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 218 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 152.100 2005=100 in Dec 1964 and a record low of 56.800 2005=100 in Sep 1980. United Kingdom New Construction Order (NCO): Volume Index: sa: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.EA007: New Construction Order Volume Index: 2005 Price.

ImPI: Non EU: ME: Machinery For Mining, Quarrying & Construction data was reported at 83.200 2010=100 in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 82.500 2010=100 for May 2018. ImPI: Non EU: ME: Machinery For Mining, Quarrying & Construction data is updated monthly, averaging 63.250 2010=100 from Jan 1996 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 270 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 105.400 2010=100 in Jan 2012 and a record low of 52.500 2010=100 in Jun 1998. ImPI: Non EU: ME: Machinery For Mining, Quarrying & Construction data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.I044: Foreign Trade Price Index: SIC 2007: 2010=100: Import Price Index: Non EU.

Construction costs for civil engineering projects continued growing in 2024. Between 2011 and 2020, the index fluctuated between 89 and 92. However, the value of the index in 2024 reached 117.19 index points. The cost of erecting a building and the total construction costs for the industry as a whole also increased that year.

United Kingdom NCI: sa: New Construction Housing: Public data was reported at 89.417 2000=100 in Dec 2008. This records a decrease from the previous number of 123.240 2000=100 for Nov 2008. United Kingdom NCI: sa: New Construction Housing: Public data is updated monthly, averaging 166.550 2000=100 from Mar 2004 (Median) to Dec 2008, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 293.127 2000=100 in May 2007 and a record low of 60.646 2000=100 in Jul 2004. United Kingdom NCI: sa: New Construction Housing: Public data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.EA009: New Construction Order Volume Index: 2000 Price.

The producer price of building roads and motorways in Italy barely increased in 2024, with a growth rate of 0.58 percent. Meanwhile, that year, the construction cost of bridges and tunnels was -1.86 percent lower than in 2023. Infrastructure construction costs in Germany rose slightly in 2024.