Updated October 2026 with Q3 2026 data. Next update: January 2027.
A skip is often the first thing to arrive when a building job starts. We deliver thousands of them a year across Dorset, so every quarter we publish what our lorries are seeing. The Dorset Skip Index is an early, street-level read on building and home-improvement activity, before the official figures.
In 2024 the Sunday Times economics editor David Smith said his own “skip index”, the builders’ skips in his street, was “stuck at zero” (source). Ours counts every skip we deliver, on hundreds of streets across more than 40 Dorset postcode districts.
Fewer new jobs started this quarter, largely because of one large account, while activity on sites already running held steady.
New starts counts new skip hires, which means jobs beginning. Site activity counts every skip we deliver, including exchanges on jobs already underway. It is the same idea as housing starts vs construction output. Both use average quarter in 2025 = 100. Autumn and winter dip every year, so compare each quarter with the same quarter a year earlier.
New starts vs site activity
New startsSite activity
New starts by customer
TradeHouseholds
Fewer starts, steady sites
New skip hires have been below last year for three quarters running (−11%, −3% and now −5%), while total skips delivered are 1% higher. Most of this quarter’s fall comes from one national waste management company placing less work in Dorset; without that one account, new starts were slightly up. Sites already underway are holding steady while fewer new jobs begin. That gap is worth watching: if starts stay soft, activity could follow.
Households have steadied
Pay-as-you-go customers, mostly homeowners, fell sharply over winter (−19%, then −23%). Since spring they have been back at or above last year’s level: up 5% in Q2 and 1% in Q3.
Trade has eased
Builders and contractors are starting slightly fewer new jobs (−7% in Q2, −9% in Q3). Much of that is one large account (see one-off effects below), so underlying trade demand is closer to flat.
Town vs country
Rural and market-town Dorset is level with last year on new starts this summer (+1%). The Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch area is down 15%, partly because a major healthcare building project finished.
Our street-level reading next to the two main national measures of construction, latest available at the time of publishing.
Where we agree: homeowners’ repair and improvement work is holding up while new building stays weak, and fewer new jobs are starting, matching the 11.8% fall in national construction new orders in Q2. Where we differ: skip data looks flatter than the builders’ survey suggests, but our Q1 dip was sharper than official output. With two years of records we compare rather than predict. We will test whether skips lead the official figures as the series grows.
Sources: ONS construction output; S&P Global UK Construction PMI, September 2026. National measures use different bases (quarter-on-quarter, diffusion index) from our year-on-year comparison.
- Day one: the skip is delivered, and the job is counted in the Skip Index.
- Weeks later: materials bought, trades on site, first invoices.
- Month end: the work is counted in official construction output.
- About six weeks on: official monthly construction figures are published.
| Quarter | New starts index | vs last year | Site activity index | vs last year | Trade starts | Household starts | Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch | Rest of Dorset |
| Q3 2024 | 97 | – | 99 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Q4 2024 | 77 | – | 85 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Q1 2025 | 105 | – | 100 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Q2 2025 | 105 | – | 103 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Q3 2025 | 108 | 0% | 105 | −2% | +8% | −11% | −3% | +2% |
| Q4 2025 | 82 | +6% | 92 | +9% | +23% | −19% | +11% | +3% |
| Q1 2026 | 94 | −11% | 96 | −4% | −3% | −23% | −20% | −5% |
| Q2 2026 | 103 | −3% | 101 | −2% | −7% | +5% | −5% | −1% |
| Q3 2026 | 102 | −5% | 106 | +1% | −9% | +1% | −15% | +1% |
Index: average quarter in 2025 = 100. Segment columns show new starts vs the same quarter last year. Q3 compares the same dates (8 Jul – 30 Sep). Records begin 8 July 2024.
We flag any quarter where a single large customer or project moves either measure, so a one-off is not mistaken for a Dorset trend.
- Q3 2025: a large demolition contract started, adding site activity.
- Q4 2025: higher volumes from national waste management companies placing work in Dorset.
- Q1 2026: a large healthcare construction project in Bournemouth completed.
- Q2 2026: lower volumes from one national waste management company, and a major contractor’s project finished.
- Q3 2026: the demolition contract finished, and lower volumes from one national waste management company continued.
- New starts: every new skip and roll-on roll-off container hire we deliver in Dorset and its borders, for trade and household customers, including work placed through other waste companies.
- Site activity: new hires plus exchanges (a full skip swapped for an empty one) and wait-and-load jobs. Large sites swap skips often, so this measure moves more with big projects.
- Not counted: collections and our own internal moves.
- Trade vs households: trade = account customers; households = pay-as-you-go customers, mostly homeowners.
- Base: average quarter in 2025 = 100. Changes are against the same period a year earlier.
- Limits: one company’s delivery records, not an official statistic. Records start July 2024.
- Schedule: published about two weeks after each quarter ends. Next release: Q4 2026, January 2027.
The same delivery records that drive the index also show when and how people hire skips, which is useful if you have a project coming up.
- Book ahead in spring. March and April are our busiest months for new skip hires across Dorset, and December is about half a normal month. If you need a specific delivery day between March and May, book a week or so ahead.
- The 8-yard skip is the most popular size. It suits most kitchen and bathroom refits, garden clearances and small extensions. Not sure? See how big an 8-yard skip is.
- Bigger jobs use roll-on roll-off containers. Around one in eight skips we deliver is a RoRo. For site clearances and demolition, see RoRo hire.
- Road placements need a permit. If the skip can’t go on your drive, we arrange the council permit for you. Allow a few working days.
Ready to start? Get an instant skip hire quote or call 01202 247716.
For journalists and economists: you are welcome to quote and chart the Dorset Skip Index. Please credit “The Waste Group Dorset Skip Index” and link to this page. For comment, contact Tim Ankers, The Waste Group: tim.ankers@thewastegroup.co.uk or 01202 247716.
What is the Dorset Skip Index?
A quarterly index built from The Waste Group’s own skip delivery records across Dorset. It tracks new skip hires (jobs starting) and all skips delivered (activity on jobs already underway), as an early read on local building and home-improvement activity.
Is the Dorset Skip Index an official statistic?
No. It is one company’s delivery data, published because skips usually arrive at the very start of a job. It reflects our customers and coverage as well as the wider economy.
Why do skips give an early signal?
A skip is often the first thing on site, before materials, trades and invoices. Official monthly construction figures are published around six weeks after each month ends.
Can I use the figures?
Yes. Please credit “The Waste Group Dorset Skip Index” and link to this page.
Planning a job in Dorset? See local skip sizes, prices and permits: Poole · Bournemouth · Dorchester · Christchurch · Wareham · Weymouth · Wimborne · Swanage, or get a skip hire quote.
