Housing markets shine in May slump
11:43 03 Jul 2003
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The public and private housing markets were the only areas of construction that grew year-on-year in May, according to the latest data from the Department of Trade & Industry.
Total new orders for May were down 10% from the same month last year to £2.3bn. Public and private housing were the only two sectors to post substantial growth of 42% and 29.6% respectively.
Private commercial, infrastructure and other public posted drops of 33.3%, 21.9% and 10% respectively. In fact the infrastructure total of £252m was the sector's lowest monthly total since December 2001.
Private commercial was affected by slumps in all its key areas: offices, entertainment and retail, while other public was knocked back by drops in education and health.
The private industrial sector grew 1.2% year-on-year.
May construction orders:
Public housing: £108m (£76m)
Private housing: £730m (£563m)
Infrastructure: £252m (£323m)
Other public: £386m (£429m)
Private industrial: £159m (£157m)
Private commercial: £665m (£998m)
Total: £2,301m (£2,546m)