Civil engineering contractors are reporting the first fall in workloads since the pandemic, with CECA’s latest Workload Trends Survey for 2025 Q3 showing activity slipping into negative territory. The trade body recorded workloads at -1% on balance, ending a prolonged period of growth and signalling a softening in live site activity across parts of the infrastructure market.
Work remained robust in renewable and non-renewable electricity, nuclear-related projects, and water and sewerage, where programmes continue to move through design and delivery. However, the sharpest declines were logged in rail, motorways and trunk roads, and preliminary works – all areas heavily dependent on clear public-sector investment decisions and long-term funding commitments.
Order books are still growing overall but only just, with a balance of +5% – the weakest reading since 2020 – underlining the risk of a thinner pipeline feeding through to site starts in 2026. CECA members report that demand has not disappeared, but that delivery is becoming increasingly inconsistent, particularly in transport, as schemes are delayed, rephased or left awaiting approvals.
CECA is urging the UK Government to convert policy intent into executable programmes with greater pace and certainty. Contractors are calling for clearer commitments, faster decision-making, realistic procurement timetables and a stronger focus on deliverability to avoid gaps in workload and to maintain supply chain capacity.
Firms continue to face elevated input costs and shortages in key roles, which are squeezing margins and complicating resource planning on live frameworks and new bids. CECA argues that any acceleration in infrastructure delivery will require a pipeline that is not only ambitious but also credibly funded and structured to be investable for clients, tier one contractors and the wider supply chain.
Despite the current headwinds, most contractors still expect workloads and new orders to rise over the next 12 months and are continuing to increase employment. CECA is positioning the latest survey as a warning shot rather than a definitive downturn, stressing that coordinated action across central and local government will be critical to ensure the Q3 workload dip remains a temporary setback rather than the start of a more entrenched slowdown in UK civil engineering output.
