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Construction Certainty Index 2026

The Construction Certainty Index is the world’s only global benchmark of delivery confidence in construction.

Built on insights from more than 1,300 construction decision-makers across regions and sectors, it measures how confident organisations feel in their ability to deliver projects successfully. It shows where organisations feel more certain, where they feel exposed, and where confidence is weakening.

The Index scores delivery confidence across five pillars, producing a score out of 100, allowing for comparison across regions and sectors. A higher score means greater certainty and lower perceived risk.

Please see appendix for explanation of weighting, full methodology and detailed sector breakdown by region.4

The five pillars are:

Time and budget

Confidence that projects will be delivered on time and within budget.

Risk

How much external risks like inflation, policy and labour are affecting projects.

Sustainability

How predictable and viable sustainable projects and future investments feel.

Technology adoption

Confidence in construction-related technology adoption and its role in responding to uncertainty.

AI impact

Confidence in AI use and its potential to improve outcomes and manage risk.


Construction Certainty Index by region, with comparison to 2025 4


Construction Certainty Index by sector with comparison to 2025 4


Construction Certainty Index by country with comparison to 2025 4


4 See appendix for explanation of weighting, full methodology and detailed sector breakdown by region.

What the Index reveals

The Index shows a clear fall in delivery confidence.

Certainty has fallen across every region and every sector. Most worryingly, time and budget certainty has fallen universally. This is where confidence matters most.

No sector stands out as highly certain. Technology records the highest overall Index score, at 55, followed by renewable energy at 54. Technology is also the only sector where at least half of respondents are very or completely confident of both meeting deadlines (51%) and staying within budget (50%). Healthcare matches technology on deadlines, at 51%, but only 36% are equally confident about staying within budget. But being ahead of other sectors is not enough. Even the strongest-performing sectors have lost ground over the last year.

This should concern the industry.

Construction has been living with volatility for years. Inflation, supply chain disruption, labour shortages, policy shifts and geopolitical shocks are not new. The next shock may come from a different place, but the pattern is familiar: disruption can happen quickly, pushing up costs, slowing decisions and undermining confidence further.

“The Index should make the industry pause. Market shocks are not going away, but delivery confidence is falling when it should be getting stronger.
After several years of volatility, we should be building better muscle memory: stronger data, earlier warning signs and plans that can flex when conditions change. Too often, projects are forced into reactive decisions once the shock has already hit.
The industry has to get better at reading the signals, adapting earlier and keeping delivery moving with confidence.”

John Graham

Chief Growth & Collaboration Officer Currie & Brown

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