Member Article

Sustained growth in construction sector ‘welcome surprise’

Cheshire-based construction intelligence specialist Barbour ABI has welcomed continuing growth trends in the industry, following the release of the latest ONS update – though they come as a surprise.

Michael Dall, the firm’s lead economist, said: “The latest figures reveal unexpected growth for the UK construction industry in the last quarter of 2013.

Barbour ABI, an expert provider of market intelligence for the Built Environment sector, was recently appointed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to provide Construction New Orders data, a key indicator of the health of the Built Environment industry for the UK economy.

Mr Dall added: “While preliminary GDP figures estimated a 0.3 per cent fall in construction in Q4, the industry has actually seen healthy growth of 0.2 per cent on the previous quarter, culminating in sustained expansion of 1.3 per cent throughout 2013.

“December also saw an increase of 2 per cent on the previous month, capping off a better year for the industry.

“Evidence of broad-based growth across nearly all the sub-sectors is an encouraging sign that the industry is improving, but it’s also interesting to note that private housing construction is up 21.6 per cent compared to the corresponding month last year.

“Clearly, housing initiatives such as Help to Buy are continuing to have a significant impact on this sector, boosting growth figures across the entire construction industry.

“Overall, this announcement represents positive news. Early indications are that 2014 has started much more strongly compared to 2013, and as such, there is plenty of cause for optimism.”

Barbour ABI also produces the CPA/Barbour ABI Index monthly alongside the Construction Products Association (CPA), and is the chosen data provider for the CPA Forecasting Panel.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .