Bosses are warning that plants could shut, jobs could go and the UK could become hooked on costly foreign imports as the crisis deepens
Britain’s cement industry is on its knees and at risk of collapse. Producers are being clobbered by a soaring tax burden – up 29% in just four years – even as output crashes to a 60-year low.
Bosses are warning that plants could shut, jobs could go and the UK could become hooked on costly foreign imports as the crisis deepens.
Industry chiefs say they are being hit by a brutal double whammy of rising costs and plummeting demand, with construction grinding to a halt. Housebuilding has fallen well short of the 300,000-a-year target. Current levels are running at barely two-thirds of that.
Figures show ready-mixed concrete volumes, a key sign of building, have plunged by nearly 11% year on year. The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has launched a “Backing British Cement” campaign, warning the crisis is as serious as the turmoil facing UK steel.
Cement and steel are both “foundation industries” – vital for building homes, roads and infrastructure. But firms say cement is being squeezed harder than most.
A string of tax hikes, including cuts to red diesel rebates and rises in levies, business rates and National Insurance, have piled pressure on struggling producers.
An industry report warned that, “the situation is stripping away business confidence and damaging industry investment”. It says 1.5million new homes and major transport projects now face “a real and growing risk”.
MPA chief Chris Leese said the sector “faces hugely depressed levels of construction activity” while “being crushed by rising costs”. He added: “This is threatening jobs, stifling investment and leading to a loss of capacity, which could hold construction back when and if recovery comes.”
It comes after inflation jumped to its highest since December after a sharp rise in diesel and petrol prices caused by the war in the Middle East. The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation increased to 3.3% in March from 3% in February, the Office for National Statistics said.
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