UK Construction Contracts For First Time In 13 Months
03 Oktober 2017 - 9:05AM
RTTF2
The UK construction sector contracted for the first time in more
than a year in September as a sustained fall in new work led to the
reduction in overall business activity, data from IHS Markit showed
Tuesday.
The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply
construction Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 48.1 in September,
while the reading was expected to remain unchanged at 51.1.
The score was below the 50 no-change threshold for the first
time in 13 months. The latest reading signaled the fastest decline
in overall construction output since July 2016.
Lower volumes of construction work reflected marked falls in
both commercial and civil engineering activity. The reduction in
civil engineering work was the steepest for almost four-and-a-half
years.
The latest decline in work on commercial development projects
was the second-sharpest since February 2013. Meanwhile, house
building was the only broad area of construction activity to
register an expansion.
New business volumes slid for the third consecutive month,
thereby suggesting a continued shortage of work to replace
completed construction projects.
More subdued demand led to another fall in sub-contractor usage
and a relatively weak rate of job creation among construction firms
in September.
Input buying dropped for the first time in six months in
response to reduced workloads. Companies continued to face
headwinds from rising input costs, with higher prices for imported
materials helping to drive up inflationary pressures to a 7-month
high.
Further, the survey indicated that business optimism eased to
its second-lowest since April 2013. A number of firms cited
concerns about UK business investment prospects, linked to
uncertainty around the path to Brexit.
"A dismal picture of construction emerged this month as the
sector showed signs of worsening business conditions across the
board," Duncan Brock, director of customer relationships at the
Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said.
"With the biggest contraction in overall activity since July
2016, and a drop in new orders, optimism was in short supply,"
Brock added.
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