The latest new orders figures confirm the dire state of work in the construction pipeline.

There was a drop of £6 billion in new work construction won in 2008 compared with 2007, which points to a rough road ahead.

While there are some reasons for optimism within the infrastructure sector and public non-housing spending is holding up, the giant housing and commercial sectors have fallen off a cliff.

The graphs below (click on continue reading) show the good the bad and the ugly sectors of construction new work over 2008. But it is worth remembering that the ugly bits are in scale the big drivers of construction.

The graphs show the value of new work won in £m at 2000 prices

THE GOOD

THE BAD

THE UGLY