At a glance
UK construction output fell 1% in the three months to August, extending a four‑month slide in activity. (Source: Ground News / ONS)
September’s PMI shows construction still contracting but at the slowest pace since January, with infrastructure and commercial work outperforming housebuilding. (Source: Ground News / S&P Global)
Kier has secured almost £65m of Thames Water AMP8 upgrade contracts across three Home Counties. (Source: Ground News)
Glenigan’s latest data confirms infrastructure and utilities schemes are propping up workloads as residential and non‑residential markets soften. (Source: Ground News / Glenigan)
Key highways assets face disruptive maintenance works and rising fuel costs, with diesel at £2/litre threatening an extra £590m a year for civils. (Source: Highways & Construction)
Today’s update: official data and survey evidence point to a construction market still under pressure, but with clear signs that infrastructure and utilities work are cushioning the downturn. New water, rail and highways activity is providing opportunity just as housing and wider building output weaken and operating costs climb. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead today.
Ongoing Stories
Following last week’s focus on infrastructure as a risk and opportunity area, Glenigan’s October Construction Index adds hard data showing that utilities and infrastructure schemes are now the main support for workloads while residential and non‑residential projects stall. (Source: Ground News / Glenigan)
Building on recent coverage of infrastructure delivery risks, the Core Valley Lines electrification scheme’s recognition at the British Construction and Infrastructure Awards highlights how complex rail upgrades are still achieving exemplary outcomes under current market pressures. (Source: ICE)
Top 5 headlines
💰 UK construction output falls 1% over three months to August
Office for National Statistics figures show construction output declined 1% in the three months to August 2026, the fourth consecutive fall in the monthly series. New work dropped 1.4% over the period, while repair and maintenance slipped 0.3%, and monthly output in August was down 0.2%. For contractors and clients, the sustained slide confirms a weaker baseline for workloads going into the autumn, sharpening competition for viable projects and amplifying cashflow and resourcing risks. (Source: Ground News / ONS)
💰 Construction PMI shows slowest contraction in eight months
The S&P Global UK Construction PMI for September recorded 46.1, up from 44.3 but still below the 50 threshold that separates growth from decline. Housebuilding remained the weakest performing segment, while infrastructure and commercial activity showed comparatively greater resilience. The data suggests that while the downturn is easing, workloads remain fragile and increasingly skewed towards infrastructure and non‑residential schemes. (Source: Ground News / S&P Global)
🏗️ Kier wins almost £65m in Thames Water AMP8 upgrades
Kier has secured four contracts worth nearly £65m under Thames Water’s AMP8 investment programme to upgrade wastewater infrastructure at sewage treatment works in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey. The packages form part of Thames Water’s wider push to modernise its assets in the current regulatory period. The wins underline ongoing opportunities in regulated water work as utilities continue to invest in resilience and environmental performance despite broader market headwinds. (Source: Ground News)
🚆 Infrastructure and utilities underpin workloads as building slows
Returning today in new data, Glenigan’s October Construction Index finds that infrastructure and utilities projects are now the main drivers keeping UK construction activity moving, set against weaker residential and non‑residential building. The findings align with recent PMI and output figures showing divergent performance between segments. For the supply chain, this tilt increases the strategic importance of rail, highways, water and power frameworks in maintaining order books. (Source: Ground News / Glenigan)
🚆 Core Valley Lines electrification wins major industry award
The Core Valley Lines electrification project in Wales has been recognised at the 2026 British Construction and Infrastructure Awards for its engineering and construction delivery. The scheme showcases best practice in complex rail modernisation, including the integration of electrification into existing valley rail infrastructure. The award signals that high‑performing rail projects can still set delivery benchmarks even as the wider sector grapples with cost, skills and governance challenges. (Source: Institution of Civil Engineers)
🚆 Highways maintenance, incident and cost pressures intensify
Highways & Construction reports that the A1 northbound between Wansford and Wothorpe will see ten weeks of night‑time closures for maintenance, while 40‑year‑old expansion joints on the M25 near Heathrow are scheduled for replacement, and a recent A23 southbound HGV fire triggered a 12‑hour closure. At the same time, diesel prices at £2/litre are projected to add around £590m annually to civil engineering fuel bills. The combination of essential asset renewals, disruptive incidents and rising operating costs compounds delivery risk on road schemes and may feed into higher tender prices and tighter traffic management constraints. (Source: Highways & Construction)
Also in the news
🚆 The Core Valley Lines electrification accolade, highlighted again today, reinforces the project’s role as a reference point for integrating complex rail upgrades within live networks. (Source: Institution of Civil Engineers)
🚆 Glenigan’s latest Construction Index, revisiting this week’s theme of infrastructure resilience, points to utilities and transport work increasingly offsetting weakness in mainstream building. (Source: Ground News / Glenigan)
🚆 Planned maintenance on the A1 and M25 underscores the volume of life‑expired strategic roads assets requiring intervention over coming months. (Source: Highways & Construction)
🚆 The A23 HGV fire‑related closure highlights ongoing network vulnerability to unplanned events alongside scheduled works. (Source: Highways & Construction)
💰 Forecast extra fuel costs of £590m a year for civil engineering at current diesel prices will feed directly into project cost plans and risk allowances. (Source: Highways & Construction)
The Daily Build is written for people steering the UK’s construction and infrastructure programmes. If this briefing is useful for your next pipeline, bid or board discussion, consider forwarding it to your team.