There seems to be no respite. Each week brings news of yet more belt tightening, job losses and subbies under pressure from main contractors.
Much of the blame has been placed on the housing sector, but now it seems the rest of the industry has caught a cold. Only last week a supplier to the housing sector said orders hadn't slowed, but dried up completely.
Construction in general is a long way from this predicament, but the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show output fell by 0.7% during the second quarter of 2008. And the City blames construction for dragging the wider economy into the mire.
But despite the worrying figures, there is cause for optimism. It's a well rehearsed line that as long as government spending plans continue then public sector projects will keep many businesses afloat. Now that construction is being blamed for dragging the wider economy down, can the government risk cutting back any of that spending and creating further turmoil?
There is also positive news that the first Crossrail contracts will soon be let. While speculative builds, like the Shard, remain on track with the developer predicting the property market will emerge from the doldrums next year as the building work commences.
In the short term the industry is suffering, but looking ahead there are reasons for optimism. There will be tough times but for now talk of recession remains just that.
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Comments (4)
As a builder myself I feel that we have had a good run for a very long time now, and have enjoyed big increases in house prices so a correction
was inevitable .I also do not see any sign of a recession...for the moment at least..
Posted by Peter O Loughlin | August 13, 2008 2:36 PM
Posted on August 13, 2008 14:36
MAKE'S A CHANGE TO HEAR THING'S ARE ON THE UP IN A FEW SECTORS.
GERRY
Posted by GERRY | September 24, 2008 11:36 AM
Posted on September 24, 2008 11:36
It is became much easier to find good workers.
Posted by Andriy Trukhin | October 12, 2008 3:42 PM
Posted on October 12, 2008 15:42
Any who works in domestic sector will really struggle for the time being.
Posted by Andriy Trukhin | October 16, 2008 12:35 PM
Posted on October 16, 2008 12:35