The average cost of materials used in all types of work across the construction sector rose by 4.7% in April 2023 compared to the same month in the previous year. This followed a larger increase of 8.7% in March 2023 compared to March 2022, Homebuilding & Renovating reported.

This is according to the Building Materials and Components Statistics for May which shows the rising costs in the construction sector. After analysing the year-on-year changes, the 'New Housing' price index was shown to experience the highest increase in costs at 7.6%.

On a monthly basis, the material price index for all types of work was shown to have increased by 0.8% in April 2023 compared to March 2023, which was preceded by a smaller increase of 0.4% in March 2023 compared to February 2023.

These rising costs have been put down to the declining availability of materials such as brick and blocks, and the rising costs of concrete, insulating materials and sand.

Increasing material costs and declining availability

The 4.7% year-on-year rise in construction costs on has been explained by rising material costs and declining product availability.

In April 2023, concrete block deliveries experienced a decline of 18.3% in April 2023 compared to April 2022, as reported by the seasonally adjusted figures. This decline followed a decrease of 24.5% in March 2023 compared to March 2022. 

Similarly, sales of ready-mixed concrete sales in Q1 of 2023, showed a positive growth of 9.6% compared to Q4 of 2022, but when compared with Q1 of 2022 this represented a 2.4% decline.

Additionally, sales of sand and gravel experienced a slight decrease of 1.0% in Q1 of 2023 compared to Q4 of 2022. When comparing Q1 of 2023 to the corresponding period in 2022, sales showed a significant decrease of 11.3%.

The sales of sand and gravel have consistently remained below pre-recession levels, and the industry has faced recent drops due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Brick deliveries also reported a significant decrease of 31.8% compared to April 2022, with this decline also following a substantial decrease in brick deliveries of 33.5% in March 2023 compared to March 2022.

However, according to John Newcomb, CEO of the Builders Merchants Federation, and Peter Caplehorn, CEO of the Construction Products Association, Co-Chairs of the Construction Leadership's (CLC's) Product Availability working group the introduction of new brick manufacturing plants in the UK over the next 6 to12 months will significantly reduce the country's reliance on expensive imports to replenish stocks in the future.