Construction activity weakens as demand and costs weigh on sector

The first three months of 2026 were a challenging opening to the year data from the CPA Construction Trade Survey has revealed.

Previous surveys had already shown a slowdown in demand over recent quarters and with persistent rain in January and February and the start of the Middle Eastern conflict pushing oil prices above $100 per barrel in March, there was a broad weakness evident in the construction supply chain.

Sales fell for product manufacturers and workloads were lower for both chartered surveyors and civil engineering contractors. Moreover, it was the first quarter that both heavy side and light side product manufacturers had reported a decrease in sales volumes since 2023 Q4, it was also the lowest balance for chartered surveyors and civil engineering contractors since the pandemic-hit quarters in 2020. This widespread decline points to a more broad-based fall in construction activity, with even infrastructure, which has been an area of growth in past surveys, unable to retain momentum against the Q1 headwinds.