Brickonomics

Apparently there were 2,285,000 or so jobs in construction in the final quarter of last year up 47,000 on a year earlier and just 1,000 down on the quarter before, which appears to be the peak in this economic cycle. Puzzled? Wondering where these jobs are? Wondering why you are signing on? Wondering who is it that is employing when most firms you know are axing staff like crazy? Trying to square the workforce jobs figures with the vacancy and…

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The news that Britain is looking to curb the flow of non-EU surveyors and construction managers entering these shores will no doubt be welcomed unreservedly by many. Not me. I read that piece of news with some deep regrets. Why?

January 2009: the worst monthly new orders figures ever recorded. And with little sign that February will be prove any better, the latest figures for new orders underline the collapse of construction across the board. Every sector – even public non-housing – was down on a year earlier with the exception of infrastructure. In the monthly time series back to 1983 you will not see a worse month. You have to look back to days before the monthly series began…

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There has been a big surge in window shoppers, but no increase in sales. In fact they are a little worse. That is the nub of the latest housing market survey from the surveyors’ body RICS. Much will be read into the surge in interest with suggestions that this represents the first signs of an upturn in the market.

My attention was drawn to a letter sent yesterday by the Construction Products Association’s chairman Adrian Barden to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform regarding the current plight of the construction industry. It makes hard, clear, well researched and convincing points. It outlines the problems and makes the case for solutions. I’ll admit I personally would have asked for more from Government, as there is much more I feel it can do without damaging the state…

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The last time the construction industry had to puzzle out what to do with output falling as fast as it did in the final quarter of 2008 was when the Rubik’s Cube was the must-have Christmas present. Official figures published today show a drop of 7% in construction output over the quarter. Or put in more brutal terms the industry did £2 billion less work. You have to go back to the final months of 1980 to see a collapse…

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The Halifax index of house prices returned to a downward path in February after surprising many when it showed house prices rising in January. The February figure suggests that on a seasonally adjusted basis 2.3% was wiped off the value of an average home – that equates to £3,800. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the measure used by the futures market, Halifax put the value of the average house at £159,208 down almost £42,000 from the peak in August 2007….

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The cash spent on imported building materials plunged in the final quarter of 2008 despite the huge drop in the value Sterling providing a clear indicator of the rapid decline in construction activity. In cash terms the value of imports in the fourth quarter of 2008 dropped 13% compared with the previous quarter and was down 9% on a year earlier.

The construction survey results from the buyers’ body CIPS should provide a reality check on those who believe talking up the industry will help. For those looking at the situation closely the disastrous figures for February should come as little of a shock. The summary of the data provided reads: “Total business activity fell at an unparalleled rate in the survey’s history, while declines in new orders, employment and purchases all accelerated.” Little more really needs to be said. But…

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I am becoming a bit discomforted by persistent misplaced chirpiness. I keep reading and hearing things that tell me “it’s not all bad in the construction sector”. Fair enough, the construction sector is never “all bad”. Come hell or high water I can find plenty of good things even in its darkest hour. That is what has kept me engaged with it for so long. What is distressing me is that words keep dripping off the lips and nibs of…

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