Buyers' survey suggests construction industry is regaining confidence
- isobelappleby
- Dec 6, 2018
- 1 min read
"The rate of job creation in the construction industry was the fastest since December 2015 and business confidence has rebounded a little from the near six-year low seen in October. The latest reading signalled the strongest degree of confidence for three months.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index – what they used to call the purchasing managers’ index, or PMI – registered 53.4 in November, up from 53.2 in October, to remain above the crucial 50.0 no-change mark for the eighth successive month. It was the highest score since July.
Residential building reclaimed its position as the fastest growing area of construction work in November. The latest rise in house-building activity was the strongest for three months. Commercial construction and civil engineering activity also grew, the survey results indicate.
The rate of new business growth picked up since October but remained softer than seen on average in the third quarter of 2018. Some construction firms noted that Brexit uncertainty had held back new order growth, while there were also reports citing delays to public sector spending decisions. Higher levels of new business contributed to a rise in input buying and rising employment numbers during November. The latest increase in staffing levels was the fastest since December 2015. Meanwhile, greater demand for construction products and materials contributed to lengthening delivery times from suppliers, which have been getting progressively worse every month since September 2010, the survey suggests.
Growing demand for construction inputs led to another sharp rise in input prices during November.”
Source: The Construction Index (05/12/2018)
To read more
Comments