Brief Report on the Performance of the Construction Materials Industry in December 2025

In December, the building materials industry maintained stable economic performance, with steady production of major building-material products, low-level fluctuations in ex-factory prices, continued improvement in key economic performance indicators, and ongoing recovery in foreign trade markets, further consolidating the trend toward greater stability in industry operations.

1. Building materials production remains stable. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in December the value added of the non-metallic mineral products industry above designated size increased by 0.2 percent year on year, a rebound of 2 percentage points from the previous month. Among the 31 key building-material products under close monitoring, output rose year on year for 10 products and fell for 21; specifically, output of glass-fiber-reinforced plastics, glass-fiber cloth, fluorite, and sanitary ceramics all grew by more than 7 percent year on year. Moreover, output growth accelerated month on month for five products—glass-fiber cloth, ceramic tiles, sanitary ceramics, roof tiles, and kaolin—while the decline in output narrowed for 13 products, including cement, ready-mixed concrete, cement drainage pipes, insulated glass, lime, marble slabs, gypsum board, and thermal and acoustic insulation materials.

From January to December, the value added of the non-metallic mineral products industry above designated size declined by 0.6 percent year on year. Among the 31 key building-material products under close monitoring, output increased year on year for nine products, namely glass-fiber-reinforced plastic products, glass-fiber yarn, glass-fiber cloth, tempered glass, laminated glass, kaolin, gypsum board, cement-specific equipment, and concrete machinery; the growth rates for tempered glass and glass-fiber cloth expanded compared with the period from January to November. Meanwhile, the decline in output narrowed for 13 products, including cement, flat glass, cement drainage pipes, ceramic tiles, bricks, roof tiles, asphalt waterproofing membranes, and fluorite.

2. The ex-factory price of products declined month over month. In December, prices for construction materials fell by 0.2% month-on-month. Among them, prices for mineral fibers and products, construction stone, non-metallic minerals, bricks and tiles, and building blocks rose by more than 1% month-on-month; cement prices increased by 0.4% month-on-month, while flat glass prices declined by 0.5% month-on-month.

From January to December, ex-factory prices for building-material products fell by 4.6% year on year, a decline that widened by 0.2 percentage points compared with the January–November period. Specifically, cement prices dropped by 5.0% year on year, and flat-glass prices fell by 20.5% year on year; prices for concrete and cement products, waterproofing materials, bricks and tiles, building blocks, lightweight building materials, and non-metallic minerals all declined by more than 4% year on year; meanwhile, prices for construction stone, glass fiber and related products rose by more than 1% year on year.

3. Key economic performance indicators continued to improve. From January to December, the operating revenue of the building materials industry above designated size declined by 11.7% year on year, and total profits fell by 8.0% year on year; the year-on-year decline in each indicator narrowed by 0.5 percentage points and 40.6 percentage points, respectively. Among the major sub-sectors of the building materials industry, mineral fibers and products, fiber-reinforced plastics, and the mining and dressing of asbestos and mica recorded year-on-year growth in operating revenue; cement, mineral fibers and products, fiber-reinforced plastics, and asbestos and mica products saw year-on-year increases in total profits; while fiber-cement products, flat glass, and the mining and dressing of asbestos and mica reported losses.

4. The growth rate of fixed asset investment has slowed. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to December, fixed-asset investment in the nonmetallic mineral mining and beneficiation industry declined by 9.6 percent year on year, while fixed-asset investment in the nonmetallic mineral products industry fell by 10.2 percent year on year—representing decreases of 22.9 and 11.8 percentage points, respectively, compared with the same period last year. Among these, private-sector fixed-asset investment in the nonmetallic mineral mining and beneficiation industry increased by 3.9 percent year on year, a decline of 1.0 percentage point from the same period last year, whereas private-sector fixed-asset investment in the nonmetallic mineral products industry decreased by 10.3 percent year on year, a drop of 13.3 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

5. The building materials commodity trading market continues to recover. In December, the value of building-material exports totaled US$3.21 billion, down 6.7% year on year. From January to December, the total value of exports of building materials and non-metallic minerals reached US$33.47 billion, a year-on-year decline of 6.1%, with the rate of decline narrowing in both cases. Adjusted for price changes, real growth in building-material exports was 5.1%. Notably, exports to India, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries expanded at a relatively rapid pace. Among these, exports of sanitary ceramics, marble products, cement and cement products, non-metallic minerals and related products, architectural technical glass, display-panel substrates, ultra-thin glass, tempered glass, and glass-fiber fabrics all recorded strong volume growth.

In December, the value of imports of construction materials totaled US$1.39 billion, down 20.6% year on year; from January to December, the total value of imports of construction materials and non-metallic mineral products reached US$15.96 billion, a year-on-year decline of 26.4%, with the rate of decline narrowing. Among these, imports of fluorite, rough granite blocks, quartz glass, glass fiber rovings, carbon fibers and their products, and stone products all increased at a relatively rapid pace.