Brickonomics

Orders figures continue to point to a rougher road ahead

For those poring over the latest new orders figures released today to find guidance on the future of construction activity I suspect there is something for the optimists, but rather more for the pessimists. It must be said that trying...

Posted by Brian on November 5, 2009 12:44 PM

CIPS: construction still the sick man of the UK economy

There is nothing remarkable about the latest CIPS construction survey other than the comments, which are somewhat more guarded than those that accompanied last month's data. It found workload in the industry still falling on its measure which registered 47.7...

Posted by Brian on September 2, 2009 10:18 AM

It's worse in construction than we thought say forecasters

The latest forecasts to emerge in the current round all see the future prospects for construction as far gloomier than was expected when the number crunchers examined the figures three months or so ago. Experian now expects a 12% decline...

Posted by Brian on July 13, 2009 4:53 PM

5 reasons why we might be facing the mother of all construction recessions

It's coming around to the construction forecasting season again and the industry prognosticators will be gathering to discuss the ups and downs of the industry. If I were you, I'd be bracing myself for some pretty savage revisions to what...

Posted by Brian on June 16, 2009 2:50 PM

Experian revises down its forecast for construction output

Industry forecasters at Experian followed their rivals and cut expectations of construction activity over the coming three years. The predicted decline in output in 2009 is now put at 7.8% followed by a slight drop of 1.7% in 2010 and...

Posted by Brian on April 9, 2009 3:02 PM

We're in the worst recession on record, says Construction Products Association

The spring round of forecasting has brought more gloom with the Construction Products Association taking an even dimmer view of industry prospects than in the winter. On the basis of the current data available the materials producers' body predicts a...

Posted by Brian on April 3, 2009 9:09 PM

Annual construction output forecast to fall £23.5 billion over next two years

The first of the spring forecasts for construction has winged its way into my inbox. It is the Hewes & Associates' forecast. Hewes expects on the basis of current data that levels of construction output will fall back to those...

Posted by Brian on April 3, 2009 5:16 PM

Red alert as new orders plunge to record low in January

January 2009: the worst monthly new orders figures ever recorded And with little sign that February will be prove any better, the latest figures for new orders underline the collapse of construction across the board. Every sector - even public...

Posted by Brian on March 12, 2009 10:51 AM

Plunging building materials imports shows speed of downturn

The cash spent on imported building materials plunged in the final quarter of 2008 despite the huge drop in the value Sterling providing a clear indicator of the rapid decline in construction activity. In cash terms the value of imports...

Posted by Brian on March 4, 2009 10:37 AM

Experian cuts forecast for construction growth but predicts a boom in infrastructure

With the release of the heavily downgraded forecast from the Construction Products Association released this morning I was keen to see how the forecasters at Experian saw future workload in the industry this time around. The answer is that they...

Posted by Brian on January 12, 2009 5:17 PM

Forecast puts construction recession on par with 1990s - so expect 600,000 job losses

The rapid deterioration in confidence in the construction industry is amply illustrated by the latest prognostication of the Construction Products Association forecasters. The industry trade body has massively downgraded its expectations for construction output over the next six years, despite...

Posted by Brian on January 12, 2009 8:34 AM

Construction industry ends 2008 on a record low

Happy New Year, or is it? The first piece of hard data on performance of the construction industry we get and it is a "new" record low for the Purchasing Managers' Index compiled for the buyers' body CIPS. The overall...

Posted by Brian on January 5, 2009 10:48 AM

RICS pitch black news on commercial property - prices to fall more than in 1990s

If you like your news black like your coffee, then the latest survey of the commercial property forecast from the surveyors' body RICS will have you putting the kettle on if not reaching for the drinks cabinet. Expect property prices...

Posted by Brian on December 8, 2008 9:36 AM

How bad will deflation be for UK construction?

The talk now is not of inflation but deflation. The latest inflation figures showed a fall for the first time in 15 months and the Prime Minister chided the opposition with the line that if this year was about inflation...

Posted by Brian on November 18, 2008 2:02 PM