Construction sector 'stabilising'
Thursday, February 11, 2010
A surge in house building during the last three months of 2009 helped keep UK construction orders unchanged from the third quarter and 5% higher than the year before.
Private housing orders leapt 41% quarter-on-quarter and 20% year-on-year, according to the Office for National Statistics, although they fell 27% in 2009 to just over £5bn.
Total orders were up 20.8% in December from the previous month, but this data is volatile, making the three month numbers a better indicator.
Infrastructure orders were down 13% in the three months, but were 34% higher than the same time in 2008 and up 42.3% overall in 2009 to £8.36bn.
‘The overall impression is that the construction sector is stabilizing after enduring a major recession, and it will be desperately hoping that the economy can generate significant recovery after crawling out of recession in the fourth quarter of 2009,’ said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight.
‘Nevertheless, the construction sector still faces a very challenging environment and it is likely to be hit by the government's need to significantly rein in its spending for an extended period as this is bound to hit expenditure on infrastructure and public buildings.’
SOURCE: ShareCast (www.sharecast.com)
