UK construction equipment sales flat in September after August spike, CEA reports

Retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment in the UK were flat in September 2026 against the same month last year, at close to 2,800 units, the Construction Equipment Association (CEA) said on 6 November.

The September result followed what the CEA described as a spike in August, when sales showed double-figure growth. Sales for the first three quarters of 2026 reached 24,300 units, 5.9% above the same period of 2025, the association said.

The figures come from the CEA's bi-monthly market insights overview, written by Paul Lyons, which summarises the market reports the association provides to its members. The CEA describes itself as the trade association representing the UK construction equipment market.

The comparison with 2025

A year ago the picture was stronger. In its November 2025 edition the CEA reported that September 2025 sales grew 13.6% year on year, and that sales in the first nine months of 2025 were just under 23,000 units, 8% above 2024.

Growth has been uneven through 2026. In its September 2026 edition the CEA said sales growth slowed to 0.9% in July after 13% in June, with the seven-month total at nearly 19,000 units.

The CEA said its October sales update will be published in the last week of November.

Trade data

The association's latest quarterly trade update, covering the second quarter of 2026, showed imports of construction equipment at their highest quarterly level since the CEA began monitoring the data in 2013.

Import tonnage rose 32% in Q2, taking the first-half increase to 39% on the first half of 2025, the CEA said. Japan remained the leading source at 25% of tonnage, down from 27% in 2025, while China moved into second place with its share rising to 16% from 13%.

Exports rose 8% in Q2 compared with the first quarter, lifting first-half tonnage 17%. The USA took 27% of UK exports in the first half, up from a 21% share in 2025, a lower level the CEA attributed to import tariffs introduced in August 2025.

Q3 2026 trade data should be available later in November, the association said.

The wider market

The CEA reported that the construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 43.6 in October from 46.1 in September, its lowest reading since June and the 22nd consecutive month below the 50.0 threshold. Survey comments, the CEA said, pointed to weak housebuilding as the biggest drag on October activity, citing rising borrowing costs, weak consumer confidence and economic uncertainty.

PMI readings reported by the CEA in its recent editions were:

Month	PMI reading
September 2025	46.2
August 2026	44.7
September 2026	46.1
October 2026	43.6

On output, the CEA calculated from Office for National Statistics (ONS) data that construction output in the first eight months of 2026 was 1.3% below the same period of 2025, with new work down nearly 6% and repair and maintenance up just under 5%. The CEA's September edition had put the seven-month decline at 1.9%; the ONS said its latest bulletin included downward revisions to earlier months.

The ONS itself estimated that total construction output fell 1.0% in the three months to August 2026, the second consecutive three-monthly fall, with new work down 1.4% and repair and maintenance down 0.3%. Private new housing fell 3.2% over the three months and was the main negative contributor, the ONS said.

The Construction Products Association's (CPA) Summer forecast, published in July, expects total construction output to fall 3.3% in 2026, with private housing output forecast to fall 10.0%. The CPA said year-to-date output had already fallen 1.6% at the time of the forecast, and it expects output to rise 1.2% in 2027, though it said the risks remain heavily on the downside.

Rebecca Larkin, CPA head of construction research, said: "Construction activity so far this year is already lower than a year earlier".

Glenigan's October 2026 Construction Review, which presents its headline indicators as three-month rolling averages, reported detailed planning approvals down 28% on the previous year, main contract awards up 25% and project starts down 21%. Glenigan's separate index of starts to the end of September put overall activity 18% below a year earlier and 2% down on the preceding three months, with residential starts down 33% year on year.

Allan Wilen, Glenigan's economics director, said: "A welcome surge in civil engineering projects partially offset a decline in residential and non-residential project starts".

The CEA said its Q3 trade data should be available later in November, with the October sales update due in the last week of the month.