Leading construction materials producers have written to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, warning that prolonged market weakness risks triggering a production crisis and permanent loss of capacity across the sector.
In a letter to the Treasury, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) said the industry is facing sustained contraction and urgently requires government intervention to stimulate construction demand.
The letter states: “Right now, our industry is struggling badly. We need you to act quickly to stimulate construction activity in order to prevent long term damage to the nation’s ability to build.”
The MPA has recorded a fourth consecutive year of declining market volumes for key construction materials, leaving sales at historic lows. Concrete volumes remain at their weakest levels since the early 1960s, prompting the association to warn that there is “now a clear danger of deindustrialisation in this sector.”
The trade body cautioned that, in the absence of tangible improvement in market conditions, producers are being forced to consider significant cost-cutting measures.
It added: “Lacking evidence of meaningful market improvements, in order to protect the long- term viability of our businesses, we are facing the difficult decisions of what to cut,which sites to close, and which roles to make redundant.
“There is a real risk that we will have to reduce the industry’s production capacity significantly in the face of the prolonged weakness of the economy. This would result in a permanent reduction in the ability of the UK to supply itself with essential construction materials, hampering recovery in the short term and growth and investment into the future.”
The warning comes amid continued weakness in housing delivery and delays to major infrastructure commitments, both of which are critical demand drivers for aggregates, cement and concrete producers.
The MPA is urging the Chancellor to take immediate steps to stimulate housing demand, accelerate infrastructure funding from both the public and private sectors and introduce targeted tax measures to support construction activity.
MPA Executive Chair Chris Leese said: “We simply cannot go on like this and frankly the solutions are not that complex – they just require the Chancellor to prioritise growth and take immediate action. Our industry has hit historic lows in key markets, so we need a concerted effort from those in Government to make policy decisions that inspire confidence.”
Member firms have also raised concerns about regulatory burdens, arguing that domestic producers face stricter carbon and manufacturing standards than some overseas competitors supplying the UK market.
One member said: “We often find ourselves navigating complex carbon regulations and stringent manufacturing standards here in the UK, only for European precast companies to swoop in at the eleventh hour and win the supply contracts for these major projects, as they can supply them more cheaply.
“This occurs even after we have dedicated months to working with the client to ensure they choose the concrete option. The fact that these are multi-million-pound government jobs makes this worse.”
Industry leaders argue that without decisive intervention to restore confidence and unlock demand, the UK risks eroding its domestic materials base at a time when government policy is simultaneously calling for accelerated housebuilding and infrastructure investment.
