All construction output articles 鈥� Page 4
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CommentNew look output data show sharp pain in repair and maintenance sector
New figures for output show that the construction industry taking a beating in the first quarter
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Buyers鈥� index suggests rapid growth in construction, how ironic
How ironic that just as the construction industry is sucking in its tummy and preparing for savage cuts the latest survey by the buyers鈥� body CIPS shows some of the strongest growth experienced over the past decade.As can be seen from graph on the right the current level of the ...
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It鈥檚 a double-dip recession for construction, if the statisticians鈥� first stab at growth is right
Construction has fallen into a double-dip recession 鈥� that is if the preliminary estimates by the statisticians putting together the first quarter 2010 gross domestic product figures are to be believed.The preliminary GDP figures put growth at a pallid 0.2% for the economy as a whole. This low level of ...
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Local builders still deep in recession says latest FMB survey
Evidence that construction is still far from free from the grip of recession has come from the FMB, the trade body that represents many of Britain鈥檚 local builders.The survey results show a market that remained in rapid retreat during the first quarter of this year.There is some good news as ...
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Explanations on why the jobs figures and output figures don鈥檛 seem to match
The Office of National Statistics has released an article that throws some light on the figures for construction jobs.I for one have been rather confounded by the construction jobs figures which seem to have understated the devastation on the ground, particularly in the wake of the collapse in house building.Indeed ...
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Joy deferred as CIPS shows construction activity grows for first time in two years
So the construction activity indicator produced by the buyers鈥� body CIPS finally points to growth after two years of measuring falling workloads. But this seemingly uplifting moment appears to have brought little joy.The March figure popped its head above the 50 no-change mark on the back of rising activity in ...
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Budget figures confirm the urgent need for new sources of investment in construction
As if in compensation for all the anticipation before and excitement during the Budget announcement, we are left with the dull thud back to reality afterwards.Certainly, for construction the Budget itself changed little of substance.Alright the first-time buyer stamp duty holiday was an eye-catching cheeky move. But we all know ...
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Half a million construction jobs to go 鈥� it looks like a dead cert
Construction has now lost 213,000 jobs since the recession started to kick in the autumn of 2008, according to the latest figures. That is about 10% of the workforce.That sounds like a lot and it is. But given the severity of the fall in construction workload to date it is ...
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Official figures show construction output falling again, but devils lurk in the detail
Construction output slumped back into decline in the final quarter of 2009, after a supposed rise out of recession in summer.That is the headline story from today鈥檚 release of the construction output figures.But dig a bit deeper and we see some unsettling implications in the numbers.Firstly the statisticians now believe ...
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Growth eludes construction as economy grows 鈥搕hat鈥檚 how CIPS sees it
The latest set of figures from the buyers鈥� body CIPS shows that construction remains mired in recession and the general pattern painted by the numbers provides little scope for optimism.The level of incoming orders fell for the third month in a row, says the report. And this will be from ...
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Prepare for a double dip in construction growth 鈥� the implication of today鈥檚 GDP figures
The UK is coming out faster from recession than we thought. But the hole was deeper.That seems to be the message from the statisticians鈥� latest stab at the nation鈥檚 output.The increase in fourth quarter GPD was revised upward from 0.1% to 0.3%, which will cheer many not least the Chancellor.But ...
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Government burglars
As Brian Green points out in his column on drumming up work, the government has pretty much kept the industry in business during the recession. About 40% of construction work undertaken in Britain is bought by the taxpayer, compared with 31% in the days when Northern Rock was just a ...
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We鈥檙e still in recession says CIPS, despite official figures showing construction output growth
Here鈥檚 a question I ponder quite a bit. Why do the official figures show that construction grew in the second and third quarters of last year when to everyone else construction has remained mired in the slough of a nasty recession?Puzzling isn鈥檛 it. Even more puzzling that the estimates for ...
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Brighter outlook from forecasters, but severe risks remain
The forecasts from Hewes & Associates and Leading Edge sit interestingly against the other winter forecasts for construction output released over the past couple of weeks.They seem to back up the mood among other forecasters that construction workload might not fall as much was feared in the middle of last ...
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We鈥檒l be getting off relatively lightly if the construction workforce drops by 400,000
The latest forecast from the Construction Skills Network (CSN) suggests that the current recession in construction will have led to a drop of about 400,000 in the number employed by the industry once job shedding ends in early 2011.This would mean a drop of about 15% in the workforce. That ...
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Mum: Are we out of recession yet?
You could feel the uneasiness among economists yesterday when the release of official statistics showed that the UK had just scraped enough oomph together in the final quarter of last year to stage a lacklustre return to growth.Most economists had expected the no-growth bar to be cleared by some margin. ...
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It's a long wait yet for commercial construction upswing
Each time a commercial property developer hints at making a move in the market I am confronted with the same question by those with an interest in construction work: Is this the start of the upswing?This question is usually followed by the suggestion that developers must be keen to build ...
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Forecasts point to a tough and risky road ahead for construction
The latest Experian forecast is out today and it paints a broadly similar, albeit slightly more optimistic, picture to that of the recently released forecast from the Construction Products Association.The main point of departure is on the views towards housing. Here the Experian forecasters are more bullish, if you can ...
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Why the forecast of a shallower recession is bad news for contractors
The latest forecast from the Construction Products Association suggests that the drop in future workload will not be as large as the forecasters had previously thought.The graph opposite compares the past three Construction Products Association forecasts.It clearly shows that with each progressive quarterly forecast the expected hole in construction workload ...
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Workload drops as the snow falls
When we suffered a cold snap back in February last year I looked at the impact of the great freeze of 1962/63 on construction output. In a word it was huge.So, as I walked into work this morning chipper as a child as I trudge though inches of snow and ...