| Construction industry optimistic about 2007 |
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| Friday, 04 May 2007 | |
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The Construction industry has enjoyed a firm start to the year, with growth expected to gather momentum over the coming months according to the latest joint Trade Survey Report from the Construction Products Association and the Construction Confederation. Construction output continued to expand during the first three months of the year. The growth in output follows a positive 2006 and confirms industry forecasts of an acceleration in construction growth over the course of 2007. Building contractors' output during the first quarter was ahead of a year ago. Growth was driven by increases in social and private new housing together with a strong commercial sector. Civil engineering contractors also reported a continuing strong upwards trends in workload, although transport infrastructure, in particular motorways and trunk roads projects remained weak. Construction product manufacturers reported a rise in sales. Light side product sales were especially buoyant. The performance of heavy side firms was mixed and the slow delivery of transport infrastructure projects dampened sales. On the back of increased enquiries for new work building contractors expect a further rise in their output. Similarly, civil engineering contractors anticipate the upward trend in orders and workload to continue. Construction products manufacturers also anticipated buoyant market conditions over the next twelve months. Industry growth is expected to gather momentum during the course of 2007, benefiting from stronger private sector investment and a pick-up in government funded work. However, housing and non-housing repair, maintenance and improvement work is expected to remain muted. Stephen Ratcliffe, chief executive of the Construction Confederation said: "The overall trend is still very positive and the key to maintaining this sustained growth is consistency and continuity, particularly in public sector investment. While building and civil engineering contractors remain optimistic about future work, it is disappointing that transport infrastructure activity remains weak. Since the Transport Plan was effectively abandoned in 2004, there has been a lack of clarity on transport infrastructure investment and it is showing." |