Brickonomics

Construction continues to shed workers at an alarming pace

A further 38,000 construction workers were made redundant in the three months to September according to the latest Government labour market figures. This raises the total of employees shed over the previous 12 months to 177,000. Meanwhile the figures also...

Posted by Brian on November 11, 2009 9:59 AM

Output figures show continued fall in cash flowing into construction

At first sight the latest construction output figures provide some relief. The fall in output in the second quarter of the year estimated to be just 0.5% and there was a slight rise in the output of new work measured...

Posted by Brian on September 4, 2009 4:33 PM

£9 billion owed in trade debt to UK's building specialists

It's a risky time to be owed money. Contractors and clients in the property world are falling like flies. So it was quite disturbing to calculate that £9 billion is outstanding in trade debt to the UK's building specialist contractors....

Posted by Brian on August 25, 2009 12:36 PM

RICS survey finds some breathing space before the real storm hits

The surveyors' body RICS found that public sector funding was providing some much needed relief for the construction sector. The shift in the numbers in its construction market survey was quite marked. The balance of firms seeing a decline in...

Posted by Brian on August 14, 2009 10:16 AM

Redundancies in construction jump to 170,000 over 12 months

The latest employment figures show a continued shocking rate of redundacies in construction with another 42,000 jobs shed from the industry in the second quarter of this year. That makes a total of 170,000 recorded job losses over the past...

Posted by Brian on August 12, 2009 10:05 AM

How to stop suicidal bidding: punish the abusers

Let's start with an assertion: Suicidal bidding in construction is not consistent with fair trade and is not in the best interests of the consumer, the client, the industry or the long-term prosperity of the nation. It's a view. It...

Posted by Brian on August 11, 2009 10:08 AM

Why contractors can't help suicidal bidding when the workload turns down

The most concerning issue now facing construction as it dives deeper into recession is that of firms taking on work at less than cost. This is not sustainable business behaviour. More than falling workloads, falling prices defined the chaos that...

Posted by Brian on August 2, 2009 1:38 PM

Contractors face a £24 billion drop in new work

UK contractors should prepare themselves for a £24 billion drop in the annual cash value of new work coming through as the recession reaches its expected bottom in 2011. Shrinking volumes and plunging prices threaten to drag the cash spent...

Posted by Brian on July 30, 2009 10:33 PM

Seven years of construction growth wiped out say GDP figures

The latest GDP figures showed a marked slowdown in the rate of collapse of the economy. But the drop of 0.8% was significantly more than economists were expecting, if the mood judged by Reuters gives a fair assessment. The median...

Posted by Brian on July 24, 2009 10:22 AM

Average weekly earnings go up in construction

I took a quick glimpse at the Average Weekly Earnings figures out today to see if there was an obvious sign of downward pressure on those employed in construction. Well comparing the average weekly earnings over the three months to...

Posted by Brian on June 24, 2009 10:43 AM

Duff jobs figures pose a threat to construction industry

The official employment figures released today show that the construction industry has lost just 40,000 jobs. That clearly is rubbish. Were the figures accurate and were the construction output figures accurate it would suggest that as the industry has plunged...

Posted by Brian on June 17, 2009 10:18 AM

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

The orders figures and public spending fears point to industry chaos ahead - need it be so?

The good news is that after the monstrous distraction over the past month cause by raking over expense claims made by MPs we are getting back to debate about things that really will shape our lives - notably how much...

Posted by Brian on June 11, 2009 1:20 PM

Construction shrinks at the fastest rate ever recorded

It was with genuine shock that I looked at the latest output figures. I was busy finishing something off when Noble Francis of the Construction Products Association called to ask if I'd seen the figures. I thought he was pulling...

Posted by Brian on June 5, 2009 10:53 AM

CIPS construction index bounces back, but what does that mean?

The latest survey by the buyers' body CIPS shows a remarkable bounce back in the broad construction index towards the magic 50 no-change mark. The index has risen from 30.9 in April to 38.1 in May and up to 45.9...

Posted by Brian on June 2, 2009 12:16 PM

Look east to find some shelter from the storm

My good friend Martin Hewes has just past me some details of the latest Hewes & Associates forecast for new work construction output. It will not make for comfortable reading if you happen to be trading heavily in Yorkshire &...

Posted by Brian on May 12, 2009 10:23 AM

Chancellor provides optimism in the gloom...and that's what's worrying

The direct measures aimed at construction-related activities and businesses in the 2009 Budget will be welcomed in some quarters, mainly among the house builders. Though I am not so sure I would go with the instant view from the surveyors'...

Posted by Brian on April 22, 2009 2:41 PM

Construction job vacancies evaporate as recession bites

The latest batch of employment figures provides little comfort to the thousands of construction workers who are now looking for jobs, as vacancies in the industry have plunged deeper. The figures show that in the three months to March this...

Posted by Brian on April 22, 2009 10:04 AM

Recovery soon for construction?

The torrent of economic good news gushing from economists and think tanks is almost overwhelming. Hell's teeth it is a boost to confidence. But does this mean that the recovery is in sight for construction?...

Posted by Brian on April 20, 2009 1:45 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