South Africa’s civil tender market remained under significant strain in the first half of 2025, with total estimated tender values falling by 32% year-on-year to R33.7 billion—a sharp R15.6 billion contraction compared to the same period in 2024. June 2025 reflected this trend, with tender values dropping 37% month-on-month to R4.7 billion and 26% below…
Wholesale sales of construction materials declined 7.7 percent y-y in May to R14.1 billion, a slight improvement from April’s revised 9.8 percent drop — underscoring persistent weakness in the trade sector. Over the same period, total wholesale trade also fell, but by a somewhat smaller margin of 6.3 percent y-y, down to R286 billion, reflecting a broadly…
South Africa’s building industry showed signs of recovery in May 2025, driven by a strong rebound in private sector building approvals, which rose 13% y-y in value and 16% in square meters, with the Western Cape leading across residential, office, industrial, and retail segments. However, growth remains highly uneven across provinces, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal…
A recent analysis of Stats SA’s Building Statistics Surveys reveals significant underreporting in the Monthly Building Statistics Survey at the provincial level. While 66% of municipalities are excluded nationally—accounting for only 14% of building completion values—the distortion is far more pronounced in provinces like Limpopo, Northern Cape, and Eastern Cape, where large portions of building…
While the 30% US import tariff may not directly target construction materials, its broader economic and trade impacts could significantly disrupt South Africa’s construction sector. From weakened export competitiveness and higher import costs to reduced investment and fiscal strain, the ripple effects threaten to delay projects, increase prices, and undermine long-term infrastructure delivery unless mitigated…
South Africa’s economy remained deeply fragile in June 2025, with weak growth, deteriorating business confidence, and persistent structural constraints undermining recovery prospects. Sharp contractions in manufacturing (-6.3% y/y) and mining (-7.7% y/y), particularly in platinum group metals (-24.1%), weighed heavily on output. Retail trade showed selective resilience, but hardware and building materials sales stayed deeply…
Cement imports surged by more than 100 percent year-on-year in May 2025, reaching 98,313 tons. The three main source countries remained Vietnam, Mozambique, and Namibia. Although imports from Vietnam declined compared to April, imports from Mozambique and Namibia increased by an average of 5.5 percent month-on-month and between 60 percent and 90 percent year-on-year. Despite…
The CRMS Index fell by 0.6% in June 2025 as strong gains in Balwin Properties (up 24.5%), PPC (up 10.7%), and Raubex were offset by steep losses in Afrimat and weaker performance in suppliers and non-residential property funds. While contractor and cement manufacturer profitability improved, retailers and suppliers remained under pressure amid declining construction material…
The composite Construction Material Price Index, fell by 0.3 percent y-y in May 2025, as construction cost continued to slow since the start of 2025. Following an average 6.1 percent increase in construction materials during 2024, cost inflation slowed to an average of 1.4 percent in the first five months of 2025. A month on…
While gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) data had already shown a moderate outlook for construction investment in Q1 2025, more detailed quarterly financial statistics released for December 2025 paint a contrasting picture, revealing a strong 21.2% year-on-year increase in construction sector turnover, reaching R90 billion. This growth was driven largely by medium-sized enterprises, which saw…
