Recent construction output figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), have shown that output fell by 3.4% in April, the biggest fall in the three-month on three-month series of figures since August 2012
The ONS figures show:
- The three-month on three-month decrease in construction output was driven by falls in both repair and maintenance and new work, which fell 3.0% and 3.7% respectively.
- Following three consecutive months of contraction in the month-on-month series at the start of 2018, construction output experienced a slight bounceback in April 2018, increasing by 0.5%.
- Total construction new orders also decreased in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2018, falling by 4.6%, driven by the continued fall in all other work new orders
Reflecting on the news, Michael Thirkettle, Chief Executive of leading construction consulting and design agency McBains, said:
“Today’s statistics prove the construction sector is still in troubled waters with continuing uncertainties, borne from Brexit, and the poor value of sterling impacting on the cost of imported materials, meaning many UK companies are delaying investment decisions.
“The real test, however, will be in the months to come, given the uncertainty over issues like Brexit that have impacted on UK companies’ commitment to new projects over the last two years.”
McBains is a consulting and design agency specialising in property, infrastructure and construction. It has operations in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
