UK Q2 Construction Orders Drop at Steeper Pace

UK construction orders fell 18.1% year-on-year in Q2 2026, deepening from an 11.9% decline in the prior period and marking the sharpest contraction since Q4 2023. The downturn was driven by a faster fall in orders for other work (-25.4% vs -19.0% in Q1), with private commercial orders also weakening (-28.5% vs -23.1%). Other infrastructure orders declined at a slower pace (-22.5% vs -36.5%), while private industrial orders surged (33.0% vs 3.6%). However, this was offset by a sharp slump in other new work excluding infrastructure (-45.8% vs 12.9%). New housing orders also lost momentum, rising 7.7% after a 15.8% increase in Q1, as private housing growth slowed (12.9% vs 17.7%) and public housing orders fell (-19.2% vs 4.0%). On a quarterly basis, construction orders declined 11.8%, matching Q1’s pace and extending the contraction to a third consecutive quarter.

Construction orders in the UK dropped by 11.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, reversing a downwardly revised 28.1% increase in the previous quarter. This was the biggest fall since the fourth quarter of 2023, dragged down by a decline in orders for other work (-18.8% vs 33.9% in Q4). Private commercial orders slumped (-23.0% vs 5.9%), as did other infrastructure orders (-36.3% vs 69.7%), while growth in private industrial orders (4.0% vs 56.4%) and other new work excluding infrastructure (12.9% vs 42.9%) slowed markedly. Meanwhile, new housing orders picked up (15.9% vs 12.7%), driven mainly by a sharp increase in private housing orders (17.7% vs 2.9%), which offset a significant slowdown in public housing orders (3.9% vs 99.7%). On a quarterly basis, construction orders decreased by 10.5%, following an upwardly revised 4.4% fall in the prior period.

UK construction orders rose 28.6% year-on-year in Q4 2025, easing slightly from an upwardly revised 30.5% surge in Q3, which had marked the fastest growth since Q4 2021. New housing orders weakened (12.6% vs 17.3%), with public housing accelerating (99.8% vs 72.5%) but private housing slowing sharply (2.4% vs 9.6%). Meanwhile, orders for other work stayed strong (34.4% vs 34.3% in Q3). On a quarterly basis, construction orders declined 3.8%, reversing a 14.4% jump in Q3, suggesting some loss of momentum toward the end of the year.