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construction confidence

Rising Costs and Political Uncertainty Weigh on Construction Confidence, Currie & Brown Finds

Currie & Brown’s 2026 Construction Certainty Index reports lower confidence in meeting deadlines and budgets as respondents face cost inflation, energy volatility and other delivery pressures.

By Bettesworth Construction Team 3 min read
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Construction leaders surveyed by Currie & Brown reported sharply lower confidence in delivering projects on time and within budget, alongside higher costs and widespread disruption. Its 2026 Construction Certainty Index, based on responses from more than 1,300 construction and infrastructure decision-makers across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, found an average 12.4% increase in respondents’ construction pipeline costs over the previous 12 months. The company separately extrapolated that finding to forecast global construction spending and estimated an almost US$2 trillion impact in 2026—a projection, not a directly measured global loss.

What the 2026 index says about construction confidence

Currie & Brown reported that 46% of respondents were confident they could meet project deadlines, while 40% were confident they could stay within budget. The company said those figures were down 12 and 14 percentage points, respectively, from the prior year.

The results describe respondents’ reported confidence, not the share of all construction projects that will finish late or over budget. The announcement gives the respondent count and broad geographic coverage, but does not disclose the full sampling frame, response rate, questionnaire or weighting details. The findings should therefore be read as a survey of decision-makers rather than a census of the construction industry. Currie & Brown’s index announcement provides the company’s figures.

What the cost figures do—and do not—measure

Respondents reported an average 12.4% increase in their construction pipeline costs over the preceding 12 months. Currie & Brown then applied that survey finding to forecast global construction spending to estimate an almost US$2 trillion impact in 2026. The latter is the company’s extrapolation, not a separate measurement of costs already incurred across global projects.

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That distinction matters: the index reports what surveyed organisations said about their pipeline costs, while the nearly US$2 trillion figure combines that result with a global spending forecast. It should not be read as a verified total of losses or cost overruns.

Which pressures respondents identified

Respondents named several overlapping risks affecting delivery. The percentages below represent the share who said each factor had a high impact; they are not estimates of the share of projects affected.

Pressure Respondents reporting high impact
Material-cost inflation 70%
Energy-price volatility 64%
Supply-chain disruption 59%
Economic-policy changes 56%
Labour and skills shortages 54%

Looking ahead, 65% expected material-cost inflation to intensify and 58% expected energy-price volatility to intensify over the next 12 to 24 months. These are respondents’ expectations, not guaranteed forecasts.

Reported effects on project delivery

Over the previous year, respondents said 30% of projects had been delayed and 27% descoped. They also reported that an average 31% of potential projects had either not started or had not progressed beyond planning because of uncertainty. These are survey-reported outcomes; the announcement does not specify the project-level definitions or underlying counts used for each measure.

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How organisational maturity relates to confidence

Currie & Brown found higher confidence among organisations it classified as having greater maturity. In that group, 58% were confident of meeting deadlines and 47% of staying within budget. Among the rest of the sample, the comparable shares were 41% and 36%.

The index also associates higher maturity with more use of data, technology and AI, and greater investment in skills. The difference between groups is an observed relationship in the survey; it does not establish that those practices caused higher confidence or better project outcomes.

Dr Alan Manuel, Currie & Brown’s group chief executive officer, said: “Those that are resilient to uncertainty share common characteristics. They’re investing in the people, technology and data that enable them to gain an earlier, clearer view of where they are exposed – and the judgement and skills they need to take action.”

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How construction teams can use the findings

The index is most useful as a prompt to examine exposure, rather than as a project forecast. A construction team can apply its themes by checking where uncertainty is already affecting cost, schedule and readiness:

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  • Revisit cost assumptions: Test estimates and contingencies against material and energy-price changes, and make the assumptions behind forecast costs visible.
  • Review procurement dependencies: Identify supply-chain pinch points and long-lead items that could affect sequencing or delivery dates.
  • Stress-test schedules and resources: Check whether labour and skills availability, policy changes or other identified pressures could move critical milestones.
  • Make project readiness explicit: For work still in planning, record what uncertainty must be resolved before a start decision can be made.
  • Improve the view of exposure: Consider whether project data, reporting tools and staff skills give decision-makers enough warning to respond. The survey’s maturity comparison is not proof of a particular intervention’s effect.

Currie & Brown’s online Construction Certainty Index tool lets users compare their organisation with benchmarks by sector and geography. Access requires an email address and consent to marketing emails and data processing under the company’s privacy policy.

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