New research shows worker shortage threatens to bottleneck material sales

Dart Tool Group's recent Construction Regions Risk Report shows that the significant workforce shortfall could slow stock turnover, cash flow and project completion.

The widening gap between construction demand and workforce capacity is threatening to bottleneck the flow of materials from merchant yards to sites across Great Britain, according to the findings from the ‘Construction Regions Risk Report. 

The sector will need an additional 47,860 extra workers each year to keep pace with growing output - the equivalent of recruiting 239,300 extra workers over the next five years, including replacement demand and growth, based on Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) annual recruitment modelling.

The research, produced by power tool accessories specialist Dart Tool Group, analysed regional government data alongside CITB workforce forecasts to rank regions most vulnerable to project delays and identify where material movement is most at risk of stalling due to labour shortages. 

Last year, Great Britain’s construction pipeline grew in value by 12.4% year-on-year to £63.34 billion, with private commercial work accounting for 27% of the total incoming national pipeline value.  

According to the CITB, construction output is predicted to grow by 2.3% in 2026, driven by infrastructure, (up 4.2% annually), and new housing (private and public), which is expected to grow by 3.3% to 3.4% per year. 

However, the workforce required to install these products is shrinking, meaning the pull-through of materials from yards to sites risks slowing, even as national pipeline value grows. 

For builders’ merchants, this disconnect could result in elevated levels of stagnant inventory, as materials ordered for future projects fail to convert into timely site call-offs. This risk is being compounded by rising input costs. 

After easing earlier in 2025, construction material costs rose again later in the year. By December 2025, the cost of materials for ‘all work’ was up 3.3% year-on-year, with pressure most acute in new housing where costs climbed 4.2%. 

National materials movement is already showing signs of strain as brick stock stagnation across Great Britain has reached 45.8%, signalling a significant proportion of manufactured bricks are not yet reaching site. 

Sand and gravel sales, a key indicator of ground-breaking activity, have also fallen 1.3% year-on-year nationally, and have declined 21.3% since 2015, highlighting a longer-term softening in early-stage construction activity. 

While the national sand and gravel decline appears modest, regional data reveal greater volatility, as the North of England emerged as the region at highest risk of project delays, driven primarily by the highest annual recruitment pressure in the country (2.2%).

Brick stock stagnation also sits at 33.3%, while sand and gravel sales have fallen sharply by 10.8% (YoY), suggesting that groundworks may already be stalling and creating early-stage bottlenecks.  

The Midlands recorded the highest brick stock stagnation ratio nationally (50.7%), however sand and gravel sales were up 5.8% year-on-year. As the only region to see a decline in pipeline value, the region’s risk remains low overall, but the current material trends may show that later-stage work, such as bricklaying, is stalling - potentially leaving brick inventory trapped in yards. 

In contrast, Wales and Scotland are successfully moving stock, seeing the lowest brick stagnation (21.1%) and rising sand and gravel sales (7%). However, a rapidly growing pipeline (up 67.4% YoY) risks a future skills bottleneck if labour supply cannot meet the expected material demand.

Construction building material trends, 2025 YTD

Ryan Paterson, Managing Director of Dart Tool Group, commented: “For builders’ merchants, the construction labour shortage is no longer just a contractor’s headache, but a direct threat to stock turnover and cash flow. When sites don’t have the hands to lay the bricks or pour the concrete, material call-offs grind to a halt and inventory starts to back up in yards.

“Our ‘Construction Regions Risk Report’ shows that national growth figures can be misleading. A branch manager in the Midlands may be facing a very different inventory reality to one in Scotland, with half of their stock sitting stagnant while materials elsewhere are moving quickly off the yard.

“By understanding these regional pinch points, merchants can manage their inventory more proactively, forecast more accurately with customers, and ensure they are supplying the right tools and accessories to help the existing, stretched workforce operate as efficiently as possible.”