Bitumen and mixed asphalt demand is declining further in the UK as road projects are cancelled as a result of restrictions in government infrastructure spending.
The UK Mineral Products Association said the previous Conservative government's decision to curtail the massive HS2 high-speed rail project "looks set to have a negative impact in demand this year". It also said the cancellation in July this year by the current Labour government of the long-awaited £1.2bn ($1.62bn) A12 road widening project near Chelmsford and of the A47 Wansford to Sutton upgrading scheme, both in southeast England, further highlighted "a chronic lack of new large and small-scale infrastructure projects across the country.
The association blamed "slow, delayed or deferred investment decisions, cost pressures and sluggish regulatory processes". Road and highway investment in the UK has been on a downward path for years, and road infrastructure work remains outside of the government's main spending priorities.
But the most recent Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (Alarm) survey, published in March, concluded that more than half of the local road network in England and Wales has less than 15 years of structural life left because of insufficient allocation of government funding to local authorities.
The last set of UK government data, published on 31 July, showed bitumen consumption had fallen by 3.8pc in the first five months of 2025 — compared with the same period last year — to 534,000t. That followed three successive annual declines from 1.838mn t in 2021 to 1.375mn t last year.
Similarly, MPA data for mixed asphalt, 5pc of which is typically bitumen — along with aggregates, sand and other components — show mixed asphalt sales in 2022 fell by 6.5pc versus the previous year to 21.8mn t , followed by a further 6.9pc fall to 20.3mn t in 2023 and another 2.5pc slippage last year to 19.8mn t.
The association's quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted data showed a 6.2pc drop in the first quarter of 2025 and while that was followed by a 5.8pc rise in the second quarter, the MPA said mixed asphalt volumes over the past four quarters were at their lowest in a decade.
A construction sector player blamed political uncertainties and changes at central and local government levels were contributing to a fresh downturn in activity this year, as they were causing halts and slowdowns in budget allocations, operations and projects as a result.
The market participant expects a 5-10pc asphalt market decline in the UK in 2025 compared with last year.
In its report issued on 4 August, the MPA pointed to the government's pledge last month to spend £92.8bn on numerous road and rail upgrade projects, of which £10.2bn is set aside for rail enhancements and £24bn towards motorways, local roads and trunk roads. But the association added that while 28 of the road projects under the scheme had already received funding confirmation, 42 were still under consideration.
