According to the ONS, construction output fell 1.6% in July 2021. It has fallen for 4 consecutive months & is 2.5% lower than in January 2020 although note the ONS appears to have issues estimating private housing output... #ukconstruction#construction ons.gov.uk/businessindust…
Looking across the sectors, the main contributors to the 1.6% fall in total construction output in July were private housing (-7.5%) & private housing repair, maintenance & improvement (rm&i) whilst the largest rise was in industrial (warehouses)... #ukconstruction#construction
Looking at the evolution of construction output in the key sectors since Covid-19, infrastructure continues to go from strength to strength whilst industrial is rising sharply from a low base as warehouse projects are finally coming through &... #ukconstruction#construction
... commercial new build activity remains subdued as would be expected but the key issues revolve around the private housing new build & private housing repair, maintenance & improvement (rm&i) sectors... #ukconstruction#construction
... commercial new build activity remains subdued as would be expected but the key issues revolve around the private housing new build & private housing repair, maintenance & improvement (rm&i) sectors... #ukconstruction#construction
Private housing rm&i output has been falling for 4 consecutive months, since its recent peak in March 2021 (boosted by catch-up in activity after the rain-affected February). The poor weather hasn't helped in recent months but... #ukconstruction#construction#ukhousing
... the key reason for the decline in private housing rm&i activity has been supply issues, primarily the cost & availability of materials & products but also in some key areas skills shortages have delayed activity... #ukconstruction#construction#ukhousing
The ONS estimate of the sharp decline in private housing output is considerably more difficult to account for. Not just the 7.5% fall in July but the ONS estimate that private housing output in July was 17.2% lower than in March & ... #ukconstruction#construction#ukhousing
... the ONS estimate that private housing output is at its lowest level since July 2020 (just after the initial lockdown). None are in line with the Housing PMI, indications from house builder trading statements & data (brick sales etc)... #ukconstruction#construction#ukhousing
... & just as a couple of examples, it is worth noting that although brick sales fell in July 2021, they remained 6.7% higher than in 2019 & ... #ukconstruction#construction#ukhousing
... whilst the IHS Markit/CIPS Housing PMI in July was 60.3 (50=no monthly change), illustrating growth, albeit at rates slower than in previous months so I would be wary of the ONS private housing estimate... #ukconstruction#construction#ukhousing
... House builders have been affected by the availability of materials, products & labour although less so than in rm&i &, in particular, less so for major house builders given set allocations & the ability to plan/purchase in advance... #ukconstruction#construction#ukhousing
... Infrastructure output in July 2021 was 3.7% higher than in June & 32.4% higher than in January 2020 (pre-Covid-19) as activity continues to rise based on major projects (HS2, Hinkley Point C, Thames Tideway) as well as... #ukconstruction#construction#ukinfrastructure
... frameworks & long-term programmes of small & medium size projects within regulated sectors such as water, roads, rail, energy etc. plus some ports work (refurbishment/expansion & free ports)... #ukconstruction#construction#ukinfrastructure
Commercial output in July was 0.7% lower than in June & it remained 20.7% lower than in January 2020 but note that it is currently a two-speed sector with many contractors reporting strong workloads & others reporting subdued activity... #ukconstruction#construction
... & contractors working on the renewing, reusing & repurposing of existing offices, retail & leisure buildings still report that activity is relatively buoyant although skills shortages are a key constraint, particularly in London, whilst... #ukconstruction#construction
... whilst new commercial towers activity (36% of which is in London) is not only subdued but falling due to projects that were signed up to or started pre-Covid-19 finishing this year with fewer new towers projects in the pipeline to replace them. #ukconstruction#construction
The key point from today's National Audit Office (NAO) report into the debacle that was the Green Homes Grant. BEIS initially announced it would retrofit 600,000 homes & yet it failed to even do 10% of that... #ukhousing#energyefficiency#netzero nao.org.uk/wp-content/upl…
... & the critical point is if government is really serious on energy-efficient retrofit there needs to be realistic long-term policies with time to gain momentum with financial incentives to give households the incentives to spend & also... #ukhousing#energyefficiency#netzero
Construction output in April 2021 was 2.0% lower than March's recent peak (that was above pre-Covid-19 levels). Comparisons with a year ago are irrelevant given April 2020 was the nadir during the initial lockdown but... #ukconstruction#construction ons.gov.uk/businessindust…
... as a more appropriate reference point construction output in April 2021 was 0.4% lower than in January 2020, pre-Covid-19 so it remains a 'V'-shaped recovery for construction output so far compared with a 'W'-shaped recovery for UK GDP... #ukconstruction#construction
Looking how the key sectors have evolved since January 2020, pre-Covid-19, there remains a distinct difference between the sectors in which activity is considerably higher than pre-Covid-19 (private housing rm&i & infrastructure), in contrast to... #ukconstruction#construction
UK construction products imports volumes from the EU in 2021 Q1 fell by 16.1% compared to 2020 Q4 & were 0.8% higher than a year ago whilst construction products exports to the EU in 2021 Q1 were 48.6% lower than in Q4 & 28.7% lower than a year ago BUT... #ukconstruction#brexit
... note some very important caveats. These are inappropriate reference points given that 2020 Q4 was distorted (artificially high) due to stockpiling & 2020 Q1 was distorted (artificially low) due to an impact from initial lockdowns... #ukconstruction#brexit
... A more appropriate reference point would be to compare with the average of 2016-18, prior to any Brexit deadlines in 2019 & 2020. Given the stockpiling in 2020 Q4, it is also worth while using the average of Q4 & 2021 Q1... #ukconstruction#brexit
UK construction employed 2.16 million people in 2021 Q1, which is 14,817 (0.7%) higher than in Q4 but it is still 154,429 (6.7%) lower than in 2019 Q4, pre-Covid-19 & 270,782 (11.2%) lower than the recent peak in 2019 Q1... #ukconstruction#construction ons.gov.uk/employmentandl…
... & interestingly, male construction employment continued to fall in 2021 Q1 (by 10,717 vs Q4 & 180,237 vs 2019 Q4, pre-Covid-19) & this was offset by a rise in female employment in 2021 Q1 of 25,534 (9.0%) vs Q4 & 25,808 (9.1%) vs 2019 Q4... #ukconstruction#gender
... which, on the plus side means that UK construction employment in 2021 Q1 had its highest proportion of females on record (albeit still a low proportion compared with the population). However... #ukconstruction#construction#gender
THREAD: Construction output in March 2021 was 5.8% higher than in rain-affected February & 6.0% higher than in March 2020 according to the ONS. Output was also higher than pre-Covid-19 & at its highest level since September 2019... #ukconstruction ons.gov.uk/businessindust…
... On a monthly basis, construction output in March 2021 was 5.8% higher than rain-affected February with increases in almost every construction sector & the largest rises public housing (+16.7%), private housing (+9.4%) & private housing rm&i (+7.7%) whilst... #ukconstruction
... on an annual basis, construction output in March 2021 was 6.0% higher than a year earlier although it is worth noting that construction output from 23 March 2020 was affected by the social distancing restrictions during the initial lockdown... #ukconstruction#construction
THREAD: It is broadly a 'V'-shaped recovery for the construction industry overall so far... Construction output in February 2021 was 1.6% higher than in January 2021. #ukconstruction#construction ons.gov.uk/businessindust…
Construction output in February 2021 rose by 1.6% compared with January as activity picked up after the usual Winter slowdown but growth was affected by persistent rain affecting outdoor site activity so expect significant growth in March as well. #ukconstruction#construction
Construction output in February 2021 remained 4.3% lower than one year ago (February 2020, the last month before the initial lockdown). Overall, it has broadly been a 'V'-shaped construction recovery but fortunes vary considerably by construction sector. #ukconstruction