Bricks, Blocks and Precast Concrete Products Market Report UK 2020-2024

The 7th ‘Bricks, Blocks and Precast Concrete Products Market Report – UK 2020-2024’ incorporates original research and provides a comprehensive review of this changing market, including market sizes across the major product areas featured, product mix, supplier performance and share, supply chain structures and other factors influencing the development of the market.

Key issues analysed in the report

• Detailed assessment of the market – market sizes, product mixes and product trends.
• Impact of Covid-19 on the industry
• Bricks – facing, engineering and common.
• Concrete blocks – dense, lightweight and aerated.
• Precast concrete products – stairs, floors, balconies, crosswall panels, etc.
• Natural and cast stone.
• Review of supply and distribution structure.
• Forecasts of market developments to 2024

Areas of particular interest

• Recent market trends and impact of housebuilding market, sustainability issues.
• Housebuilding and construction review – 2015-19, outlook to 2024.
• Impact of Covid-19 restrictions – future demand levels and industry adjustments.
• Short term prospects 2020 and medium-term forecasts to 2024.
• Review of supply and distribution structure for each product group – market mix by distributor types – builders’ merchants, brick factors, direct sales etc. Identification of major distributors and key niche players

Key areas covered in the report

MARKET FOR BRICKS

• Total market size – sales value and volume, units delivered, production output and area installed 2015-2019.
• Analysis of key factors: impact of Brexit & changing housing markets, housing mix changes, impact of trade balance, NPD etc.
• Review of product mix – facing, engineering, common bricks – product mix 2019, market size & trends by volume for each type 2015–2019, assessment of factors specific to each product type. End-use market mix for facing bricks.
• Supply structure – major suppliers, market consolidation, market share estimates, international trade 2015–19.
• Forecasts 2020–2024 – assessment of key factors, Covid-19 impact, interruptions to production, future demand levels, etc.

CONCRETE BLOCKS AND PRECAST STRUCTURAL PRODUCTS

• Overview of each of concrete blocks and precast concrete products – market sizes – blocks & structural products (concrete flooring, panels, structural frames and columns, foundations, modules/pods etc.).
• Blocks – market size and trends by volume – production, stockholdings & deliveries and by value 2015 – 2019; analysis of key market factors; sustainability issues.
• Review of product mix – lightweight, dense and aerated blocks: sales of each by volume 2015–19, key market factors; application by types e.g. inner leaves, flooring etc, trends in international trade 2015–2019, with forecasts until 2024.
• Structural Products – overall market size 2015-2019, product mix (Stairs/floors/balconies etc, crosswall panels, others).
• Supply structure – major suppliers, market shares, market positioning, changing structures etc.
• Forecasts for total market 2020–2024 and identification of key market drivers, Covid-19 legacy influence on demand, influence of offsite manufacturing, etc.

NATURAL AND CAST STONE

• Market size by value and trends 2015-2019, analysis of key market factors e.g. end-use sector trends.
• Supply structure – key suppliers of natural stone products, trends in international trade.
• Forecasts for both natural and cast stone blocks 2020–2024 by value and key market drivers, market prospects.

SUPPLIERS AND DISTRIBUTION

• For each product sector – bricks, precast concrete blocks and products, natural / cast stone. Market mix by distributor type – builders’ merchants, brick factors, direct sales etc. Identification of major distributors and niche players.

Some of the companies included:

Ibstock, Weinerberger, Forterra, Persimmon, Michelmersh, EH Smith Holdings, Ketley Brick, AJ Mugridge, The Bulmer Brick and Tile Company, Coleford Brick & Tile, HG Matthews, Furness Brick, Kingscourt Country Manor Bricks, WH Collier, York Handmade Brick Company, Cemex, Tarmac, Aggregate Industries, Thomas Arnold, Plasmor, Stowell Concrete, Breedon, Supreme Concrete, Haddonstone, Plean Precast, Marshalls, Albion Stone, Stamford Stone, Calder Masonry, Saint Gobain, Travis Perkins, Fortis, James & Taylor, All About Bricks, The Matching Brick Company and others.

Market growth within the bricks, blocks, precast concrete products, cast stone and natural stone sectors is particularly dependent on levels of new house building activity. Overall, the market has experienced positive growth from 2015-19, with the total market value, at manufacturers’ selling prices, increasing by 13%. However, annual growth rates have been particularly constrained in 2018 and 2019 amidst a general slowdown in residential and non-residential construction output.

Trends were positive with good growth for the overall market, with bricks and blocks particularly benefiting from strong growth for the residential construction sector through until the Brexit vote in mid-2016. Since then, while the economy has been surprisingly resilient the UK construction industry has faltered a little, especially over the summer 2017, following the General Election surprise result. The economic and political uncertainty seems to have led to some delays and postponement of construction investment programmes and created a less confident investment environment going forward, especially in the commercial office environment, though housebuilding has also slowed in terms of growth.

Other factors include weaker Sterling forcing import prices of products, materials and services up and leading to greater uncertainty amongst those markets where imports re significant. This market has also been affected by the changing regulatory environment, in particularly the shift to sustainability, and growing demand for new and environmentally-friendly construction methods and materials.

CONTENTS

RESEARCH SERVICES OFFERED BY AMA RESEARCH 2
1. INTRODUCTION 8
1.1 BACKGROUND 8
1.2 SOURCES OF INFORMATION 8
2. SUMMARY AND MARKET PROSPECTS 10
2.1 SUMMARY 10
2.2 MARKET PROSPECTS 11
4. BRICKS, BLOCKS & PRECAST CONCRETE PRODUCTS MARKET 14
4.1 UK MARKET SIZE 14
4.1.2 Overall Market Prospects 15
4.2 OVERALL MARKET TRENDS 17
4.3 PRODUCT MIX 17
4.3.1 Overview of Product Mix 2015 to 2019 18
4.4 KEY MARKET DRIVERS 19
4.4.1 Construction Output 19
4.4.2 Non-Residential Construction 21
4.4.3 Residential Construction 28
4.4.4 Housebuilding Market Size and Trends 29
4.4.5 Size and Type of Homes 30
4.4.6 Self Build Market 31
4.5 SUSTAINABILITY 32
4.5.1 Clay Bricks 33
4.5.2 Concrete Precast Blocks and Structural Products 33
5. BRICKS 35
5.1 MARKET DEFINITIONS 35
5.1.1 Materials 35
5.2 MARKET SIZE AND TRENDS 36
5.2.1 Market Value and Current Trends 36
5.2.2 Market Prospects 38
5.3 MARKET VOLUMES 40
5.4 PRODUCT MIX 41
5.4.1 Facing Bricks 42
5.4.2 Common Bricks 45
5.4.3 Engineering Bricks 46
5.5 INTERNATIONAL TRADE 46
5.6 SUPPLIERS 48
6. PRECAST CONCRETE BLOCKS 52
6.1 MARKET DEFINITIONS 52
6.1.1 Aggregate Concrete Blocks 52
6.1.2 Cast Stone Blocks 52
6.2 MARKET VALUE AND CURRENT TRENDS 53
6.2.1 Market Prospects 54
6.3 MARKET VOLUMES 56
6.4 MARKET BY END-USE SECTOR 56
6.5 PRODUCT MIX 57
6.5.1 Aggregate Concrete Blocks – Dense 58
6.5.2 Lightweight Blocks 59
6.5.3 Aerated (Aircrete) Blocks 59
6.6 INTERNATIONAL TRADE 60
6.6.1 Imports 61
6.6.2 Exports 61
6.7 SUPPLIERS 62
6.7.1 Leading Suppliers of Dense and Lightweight Blocks 62
6.7.2 Leading Suppliers of Aircrete Blocks 63
6.7.3 Company Profiles 65
7. PRECAST CONCRETE STRUCTURAL PRODUCTS 68
7.1 MARKET DEFINITION 68
7.2 MARKET SIZE AND TRENDS 68
7.2.1 Market Prospects 71
7.3 PRODUCT MIX 73
7.3.1 Precast Flooring and Related Products 74
7.3.2 Precast Panel Products 74
7.3.3 Miscellaneous/Other Precast Concrete Structural Products 75
7.4 SUPPLIERS 76
7.4.1 Leading Suppliers of Precast Concrete Products 76
7.4.2 Leading Suppliers of Cast Stone 78
8. NATURAL STONE 80
8.1 DEFINITION 80
8.2 MARKET SIZE AND TRENDS 80
8.2.1 Natural Stone Building Products – Market Size and Trends 81
8.2.1 Market Prospects 82
8.3 INTERNATIONAL TRADE 83
8.4 SUPPLIERS 84
9. DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS 87
9.1 DISTRIBUTION MIX 88
9.1.1 Clay Bricks 88
9.1.2 Concrete blocks, Cast Stone and Other Precast Products 89
9.1.3 Natural Stone 90
9.2 GENERAL BUILDERS MERCHANTS 91
9.2.1 Buying groups 93
9.3 FACTORS AND SPECIALIST MERCHANTS 93
9.4 DIRECT SALES 96
9.5 OTHERS (INCLUDING DIY) 96
APPENDICES 98
APPENDIX A. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 98
A.1 Overview and Outlook 98
A.2 GDP 98
A.3 Inflation and Interest Rates 100
A.4 Employment and Wages 101
A.5 Household Consumption 101
A.6 Sterling 102

TABLES AND CHARTS

CHART 1: UK MARKET FOR BRICKS, PRECAST CONCRETE BLOCKS & STRUCTURAL PRODUCTS, NATURAL & CAST STONE BUILDING PRODUCTS, 2015 TO 2024 – BY VALUE (£M AT MSP) 11
TABLE 2: UK MARKET FOR BRICKS, BLOCKS, PRECAST CONCRETE STRUCTURAL PRODUCTS & NATURAL STONE, 2015 TO 2024 – BY VALUE (£M MSP) 15
CHART 3: UK MARKET FOR BRICKS, BLOCKS, PRECAST CONCRETE STRUCTURAL PRODUCTS AND NATURAL STONE PRODUCT MIX 2019 – % BY VALUE 19
CHART 4: UK TOTAL PRECAST CONCRETE PRODUCTS MARKET 2015 TO 2019 (EST) – BY VALUE (£M AT MSP) 20
CHART 5: CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT (GREAT BRITAIN) NEW WORK & RMI 2015 TO 2014 – BY VALUE (£BN AT CURRENT PRICES) 21
CHART 6: NON-RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT (GREAT BRITAIN) NEW WORK & RMI 2015 TO 2024 – VALUE (£BN AT CURRENT PRICES) 23
CHART 7: NON-RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT NEW WORK (GB) ANALYSIS BY SECTOR 2019 AND 2024 – % BY VALUE 24
CHART 8: ENGLAND AND WALES OFFICE STOCK SHARE OF TOTAL FLOORSPACE BY ADMINISTRATIVE REGION – % BY AREA 26
CHART 9: UK ENTERTAINMENT MARKET SHARE OF REVENUE BY SECTOR 2019 – % BY VALUE 28
CHART 10: RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT (GB) NEW WORK & RMI 2015 TO 2019 – BY VALUE (£BN AT CURRENT PRICES) 29
TABLE 11: HOUSE BUILDING STARTS AND COMPLETIONS (GB) 2015 TO 2024 – BY VOLUME (000’S) 30
TABLE 12: HOUSEBUILDING COMPLETIONS MIX BY TYPE (HOUSE & FLATS) AND BY NUMBER OF BEDROOMS IN ENGLAND 2013/14 TO 2018/19 – % OF DWELLINGS 32
CHART 13: UK SELF BUILD COMPLETIONS 2015 TO 2019 – BY VOLUME (NUMBER OF COMPLETIONS) 33
TABLE 14: UK MARKET FOR BRICKS UK MANUFACTURE SALES, INTERNATIONAL TRADE BALANCE, AND UK NET SUPPLY, 2015 TO 2024 – BY VALUE (£M MSP) 38
TABLE 15: BRICKS UK PRODUCTION, DELIVERIES AND STOCKS 2013 TO Q3 2019 – BY VOLUME (MILLIONS OF BRICKS) 42
CHART 16: UK MARKET FOR BRICKS PRODUCT MIX (FACING, ENGINEERING AND COMMON) 2019 – % BY VOLUME 43
TABLE 17: FACING BRICKS SALES/DELIVERIES 2013 TO2018 AND Q1-Q3 2019 – BY VOLUME (MILLIONS OF BRICKS) 44
TABLE 18: UK MARKET FOR FACING BRICKS 2012 TO 2018 – BY AREA INSTALLED (MILLION SQUARE METRES) 45
CHART 19: UK MARKET FOR FACING BRICKS BY END USE SECTOR (NEW BUILD HOUSING, HOUSING RMI, INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL & PUBLIC SECTOR NEW BUILD) 2019 – % BY AREA INSTALLED 45
TABLE 20: COMMON BRICKS SALES/DELIVERIES 2013 TO 2018 AND Q1-Q3 2019 – BY VOLUME (MILLIONS OF BRICKS) 46
TABLE 21: SALES/DELIVERIES OF ENGINEERING BRICKS 2013 TO 2019 BY VOLUME (MILLIONS OF BRICKS) 47
TABLE 22: INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN CLAY BRICKS 2013 TO 2019 (JAN TO NOV) – BY VALUE (£M) 48
TABLE 23: CLAY BRICKS KEY IMPORT SOURCE & EXPORT DESTINATION COUNTRIES 2013 TO Q1-3 2019 – % BY VALUE 49
CHART 24: UK MARKET FOR BRICKS MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS OF LEADING SUPPLIERS 2019 – % BY VALUE 50
TABLE 25: UK MARKET FOR CONCRETE BLOCKS, 2015 TO 2024 – BY VALUE (£M MSP) 54
TABLE 26: UK CONCRETE BLOCK PRODUCTION, DELIVERIES/SALES & STOCKS 2013 TO 2019 – THOUSAND SQUARE METRES 57
CHART 27: UK MARKET FOR PRECAST CONCRETE BLOCKS MIX BY END USE SECTOR 2019 – % BY VALUE 58
CHART 28: UK CONCRETE BLOCK SALES/DELIVERIES BY TYPE (DENSE, LIGHTWEIGHT & AERATED) 2019 – % BY VOLUME 58
TABLE 29: DENSE BLOCKS SALES/DELIVERIES 2013 TO 2019 – THOUSAND SQUARE METRES 59
TABLE 30: UK MARKET FOR LIGHTWEIGHT BLOCKS SALES/DELIVERIES 2013 TO 2019 – THOUSAND SQUARE METRES 60
TABLE 31: UK SALES/DELIVERIES OF AERATED BLOCKS 2013 TO 2019 – THOUSAND SQUARE METRES 61
TABLE 32: INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN CONCRETE BLOCKS, BRICKS & PRECAST PRODUCTS (INCLUDING TILES, FLAGSTONES & SIMILAR PRODUCTS) 2013 TO 2018 – BY VALUE (£M) 62
CHART 33: UK MARKET FOR DENSE & LIGHTWEIGHT BLOCKS LEADING SUPPLIERS MARKET SHARES 2018-19 – (%) 64
CHART 34: UK MARKET FOR AIRCRETE BLOCKS MARKET SHARE FOR LEADING SUPPLIERS 2018-19 – % 65
TABLE 35: UK MARKET FOR PRECAST CONCRETE STRUCTURAL PRODUCTS 2015 TO 2024 – BY VALUE (£M MSP) 70
CHART 36: UK MARKET FOR PRECAST STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS PRODUCT MIX 2019 – % BY VALUE 74
TABLE 37: UK MARKET FOR NATURAL STONE BUILDING PRODUCTS FORECAST 2015 TO 2024 – BY VALUE (£M MSP) 82
TABLE 38: INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN NATURAL BUILDING STONE 2013 TO 2019 – BY VALUE (£M) 85
TABLE 39: NUMBER OF ACTIVE QUARRIES IN THE UK BY TURNOVER BAND SIZE 2017 AND 2019 86
CHART 40: UK DISTRIBUTION MIX FOR CLAY BRICKS 2019 – % BY VALUE 89
CHART 41: UK DISTRIBUTION MIX FOR PRECAST CONCRETE BLOCKS, CAST STONE AND OTHER PRECAST 2019 – % BY VALUE 91
TABLE 42: LEADING DISTRIBUTORS OF BRICKS, BLOCKS AND CONCRETE PRECAST PRODUCTS 93
CHART 43: GVA CHAINED VOLUME MEASURES KEY CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS 2015 TO 2020 – % CHANGE 100
CHART 44: CPI INFLATION AND BANK OF ENGLAND BASE RATE 2008-2023 101+
CHART 45: AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS DATA (GB) TOTAL PAY – 2014 TO 2019 (SEASONALLY ADJUSTED) 102
CHART 46: PDI & SAVINGS RATIO AT CURRENT PRICES 2008 TO 2023 103
CHART 47: EXCHANGE RATE FLUCTUATIONS STERLING TO THE DOLLAR AND THE EURO – SPOT RATES 2015 TO 2019 104