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Tag: Construction Products Association

Why is confidence rising in the construction industry when it appears set for recession?

Why is confidence rising in the construction industry when it appears set for recession?

I have noted from conversations I have had recently a more confident air about the future within construction this side of the New Year. And the latest Markit/CIPS survey seems to add to this anecdotal evidence with its finding that confidence in the sector in January improved “to the second-strongest degree in the survey history to reach the highest since May 2011”. I’m not sure what that actually means in numbers but it sounds like a lot of improvement.

It’s time for Shapps to find a big bazooka

It’s time for Shapps to find a big bazooka

In September 2010 Grant Shapps set a “Gold Standard” against which he, as housing minister, would be judged – to see a house-building rate at least matching that achieved before the recession. There are few targets (political hostages to fortune, perhaps) discernable from the reams of documentation and hours of speeches and statements made by this Government. But this is one. It is important. The consensus is England needs more homes. Sorry, a lot more homes, more even than the previous…

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2012 will be a stinker for construction say forecasters

2012 will be a stinker for construction say forecasters

Construction industry forecasters are now expecting a drop in output next year of at least 5%. To put that fall in context, there have only been six worse years recorded since the data series began in 1955. And some might see the latest forecasts as potentially optimistic as they assume the Eurozone manages to muddle through its deepening crisis.

Can George fill the funding gap for construction? The short answer is no and the long answer is no.

Can George fill the funding gap for construction? The short answer is no and the long answer is no.

How much will today’s announcements by the Chancellor George Osborne really change the picture for construction? Will the promise of jam today, tomorrow and for every day in this Parliament really amount to a hill of beans? Well no. But if you want to carry on to find out why not, here we go. I’ll start by trying to get a handle on what the funding gap might be for construction. In fairness its all a bit hypothetical and rests…

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Forecasters shade down expectations for construction on private sector growth fears

Forecasters shade down expectations for construction on private sector growth fears

The prospects for construction are worsening, that’s the picture painted by the latest set of main industry forecasts. Even the least pessimistic of the forecasts, from Leading Edge, at best suggests the industry now looks to be facing two years of a second dip into recession. Hewes, which remains the most pessimistic of the forecasters, finds little reason to suggest that the industry will still be plunging in 2013, while the Construction Products Association forecasters reckon the industry will not…

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Forecasters’ views vary on depth and length of construction’s second drop into recession

Forecasters’ views vary on depth and length of construction’s second drop into recession

Hewes & Associates has once again come out with a sobering forecast for the prospects of construction that suggests a deepening recession with no end in sight within its three-year range. The graph shows how pessimistic the Hewes forecast is when compared with those of the Construction Products Association and Experian. Underlying this big difference in views between the forecasters is the view on the timing and speed at which the private sector will recover and pull construction back into…

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Pan-industry construction survey points to weak private sector recovery

Pan-industry construction survey points to weak private sector recovery

The latest pan-industry trade survey compiled by the Construction Products Association economics team paints a perhaps predictably gloomy picture of the state of the industry in the second quarter of this year. The survey suggests that the upswing it recorded in output from contractors in the first quarter was short-lived. The balance of firms doing more work and those do less is was put at -37%. That’s the worst figures for a year and a half. The more detailed figures…

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Mood grows gloomier among construction industry forecasters

Mood grows gloomier among construction industry forecasters

The mood among the construction industry forecasters appears to be getting gloomier. Rather than a quick dip back into recession, in the opinion of forecasters the construction industry looks to be facing a more protracted swim through recessionary waters before reaching firm ground and growth again. Experian downgraded its expectations for growth fairly markedly from its spring to summer forecast. And this follows the Construction Products Association shading down its forecast earlier this month. Both seem to be far less…

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Construction output: So far it’s better than last year, but can that last?

Construction output: So far it’s better than last year, but can that last?

The construction firms may be suffering and may be shedding jobs, but the bald statistics so far for this year suggest that the industry is faring better than the gloomy news might have some believe. The latest construction output figures show that in pure cash terms the industry pocketed about £1.24 billion more in the first five months of this year than in the same period in 2010. And 2010 proved a pretty good year in the end, with output…

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Forecasters see pain deferred as recessions takes longer to bite in construction

Forecasters see pain deferred as recessions takes longer to bite in construction

The latest construction output forecast from the materials producers body Construction Products Association suggests pain deferred for the industry. The revised view is that this year will be less bad than the forecasters first thought, but next year will be worse and the recovery expected in 2013 will be weaker. The main thinking behind this gentle revision is that the fall off in public spending on construction is happening slower than was previously expected, having interpreted the Government spending plans….

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