Latest UK Construction Material Costs – March 2023

Our last report, published in January 2023, covered the overall rising costs of construction and material prices across 2022. In that report, we found that although prices had risen by 15% in 2022, they had generally peaked midway through the year and had since started to decrease.

Now that 2023 has begun, how have construction costs fared across the UK? In this report, we analyze the first two months of 2023, giving us some indication of how prices will fare for the coming year.

Spoiler: they’re going up again! (Although slightly)

1. Overall construction costs for “All types of construction work” slightly decreased by 0.8% from December 2022 to January 2023, but February has seen the prices go straight back up again by 0.6%.  The main contributor to this has been an increase in the cost of “Repair and Maintenance” work and “New Housing” work.

2. This has been the first increase in construction material prices since July 2022, when construction costs hit their peak. Could this be the start of a new trend upwards?

3. Insulating materials (including thermal and acoustic) continue to increase! Increasing 15% from December 2022 to February 2023.

Insulating materials have seen the fastest rise out of nearly all construction materials, increasing by approximately 60% since December 2021. For an example looking at Table 1 below to see just how much prices have risen between August 2021 and August 2022.

4. The price of screws increased by 10% from December 2022 to February 2023 , but all other remaining metal based products remain generally stable in price.

The price of screws have been steadily increasing since August 2022, increasing by almost 40% to its current prices. This increase in price has been linked to multiple layers of the supply chain such as the price of raw materials such as steel/nickel and freight shortages.

5. Cement and Concrete products continue their gradual increase in price.

Blocks, bricks, tiles and flagstones, as well as pre-cast concrete products increased the most in this category, with an approximate 10% increase in price from December 2022 to February 2023.

6. Timber and Joinery costs remain stable. No major price fluctuations have been noticed in this category since late 2022. Although it must be noted that there was a slight increase in the price of Imported plywood in February 2023.

Key Takeaways:

• February has seen the first major increase in material prices since July 2022. Is this going to be an ongoing trend? We’ll need to wait until the next report to see.
• Watch the price of insulation material and screws as they seem to be increasing at a rapid pace.
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