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Tag: construction output

Little cheer in public accounts or growth figures as construction prepare for the big squeeze of 2011

Little cheer in public accounts or growth figures as construction prepare for the big squeeze of 2011

Today’s release of the public sector finances will be a knock to the Chancellor George Osborne as they show borrowing up more than expected. Indeed at £23.3 billion (net of any financial interventions) in cash terms that is the most the UK has had to borrow in a month ever, at least as far as I could see. And tomorrow we will most likely see the official statistics for UK economic growth in the second quarter revised down – probably…

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Imports figures support official stats showing a strong bounce back for construction in 2009

Imports figures support official stats showing a strong bounce back for construction in 2009

Here’s a couple of graphs that hopefully will bring a little Christmas cheer to the statisticians at ONS who have been putting together the much queried new construction output figures. They may also bring a little cheer too to the statistics team that puts together the building materials imports figures, which also come in for criticism from time to time. Constant criticism, sadly, is the lot of the statistician. (And in the spirit of credit where credit is due, I…

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Construction firms axe jobs ahead of double-dip downturn

Construction firms axe jobs ahead of double-dip downturn

The number of jobs in the construction industry fell by 17,000 in the third quarter of this year despite the continued swell in work resulting from the now fading effects of the economic stimulus. Indeed the rather lacklustre set of labour market figures released today may well be read by some as an early sign of momentum fading in the economy at large. Certainly the drop in construction job numbers will lead many to suspect that firms are already trimming…

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Latest output data suggests the stimulus-generated surge in construction might be over

Latest output data suggests the stimulus-generated surge in construction might be over

The latest monthly construction output figures suggest that the surge in work seen in the mid part of 2010 is beginning to fade. A significant pulling forward of public spending helped to underpin housing construction, to propel publicly funded work and engender more confidence in private sector construction work. This created a swell in construction activity, which has caused some kerfuffle among economists as it has been the main driver of overall growth in the economy – although recent revisions…

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Forecasters foresee a long road to recovery for construction

Forecasters foresee a long road to recovery for construction

The latest forecast for construction growth to emerge from the Construction Products Association suggests that construction will not see growth of any significance for at least the next two years.  However, while the central projection is for a distinct double-dip in workload, even the most pessimistic scenario presented by the forecasters does not envisage a drop in construction much beyond 5%.  That would be painful but far from as dramatic as the 17% collapse from the peak quarter at the start of 2008…

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New orders data point to coming dip in construction output

New orders data point to coming dip in construction output

The official figures for orders for new construction work in the third quarter of this year were not a particular surprise, but they do reveal starkly just how fragile prospects are for the industry. The graph below shows clearly the impact of the fiscal stimulus, which reversed the tailspin in orders. But now that public spending is in retreat we are seeing orders fall away at an accelerating rate. So in time we should expect to see the same for…

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Forecasters at Leading Edge see growth after a shallow drop next year

Forecasters at Leading Edge see growth after a shallow drop next year

The latest forecast from Leading Edge may provide some comfort to those who are fretful about the prospects of ever deeper declines in the construction industry as public funds rapidly shrink. Yes, the forecast sees a drop in output next year – 0.9% after 3.2% growth this year. But the Leading Edge team are optimistic that growth in the private sector will accelerate to buoy construction overall and more than compensate for the loss work funded by the public purse….

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Construction’s downward revision yet to show in GDP figures

Construction’s downward revision yet to show in GDP figures

There will no doubt be eagle-eyed stat watchers checking on the latest official release for UK’s economic growth who are wondering why there has been no revision to the second quarter GDP. It still stands at 1.2%. If you remember the second quarter growth rate for construction output for Great Britain was revised substantially down from 9.6% to 6.6% and this was expected to have an impact on the UK GDP measure – knocking it from the 1.2% to 1.0%, all…

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RICS survey points heavily to a return to recession

RICS survey points heavily to a return to recession

Today’s construction survey released by the surveyors’ body RICS adds more weight to the fears that construction is set for a plunge back into recession, showing as it does that more surveyors are seeing workload falling than rising. Asked whether workload had increased or decreased on the previous quarter, the survey found a negative balance of 10% which follows on from a negative balance of 5% in the previous survey three months earlier. This suggests that workload is falling among…

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Construction industry is £1 billion smaller as official growth rate is trimmed

Construction industry is £1 billion smaller as official growth rate is trimmed

Construction growth is far less than it was thought to be a month ago, according to the latest official statistics. And that means UK plc growth was probably slower that we thought too. The latest figures suggest that output growth for construction in the second quarter of this year was about 6.8% and not the 9.6% previous penned in. Meanwhile second third quarter growth came in at 4%, which was more or less in line with the estimate for UK construction…

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