Fired clay bricks are essential to constructing and maintaining the built environment of our society. The UK brick industry is a significant contributor to the national economy, but economic, technical, environmental and aesthetic changes in the last 20-25 years have altered the relationship between this industry and the clay resources on which it depends. Results of research carried out on behalf of the UK government have revealed a complex and diverse pattern of resource utilisation by this industry. In particular, there are regional differences in the way the industry consumes and processes clay, and there is some evidence for a narrowing of the UK brick clay resource base. Future demand is likely to be influenced by requirements for a wide product range, increasingly tight specifications, environmental regulations limiting the suitability of some clays, increasing competition within the industry and from concrete products, and a decline in the availability of fireclay as a by-product from opencast coal extraction.
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