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

Forecasts suggest some rays of hope, but huge uncertainty remains

For those with an optimistic nature there was some good news to be seen in the latest set of industry forecasts with both the Construction Products Association and Hewes trimming how much they feel output in the industry will fall....

Posted by Brian on October 16, 2009 12:35 PM

111,000 jobs lost to construction... and that is just the start

The latest employment figures make grim reading for the construction industry with the number of workforce jobs plunging by 61,000 in the second quarter of this year. This means that 111,000 jobs have been lost to the industry since they...

Posted by Brian on September 16, 2009 10:07 AM

Public sector keeps construction orders afloat

The new orders figures were out today and they hint at a uplift, with the headline figure showing a 2% rise comparing the three months to July with the previous three months. And recently when I speak to people in...

Posted by Brian on September 10, 2009 10:16 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

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

Ignore those saying new construction orders are on the rise

I feel sure there will be someone penning near euphoric words about the 18% rise in orders in the second quarter, which is the opening line of the statistical bulletin released today. Ignore it. The new orders figures bounce about...

Posted by Brian on August 6, 2009 10:10 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

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 new orders: the Good the Bad and the Ugly

The latest new orders figures confirm the dire state of work in the construction pipeline. There was a drop of £6 billion in new work construction won in 2008 compared with 2007, which points to a rough road ahead. While...

Posted by Brian on February 12, 2009 10:41 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

The Chancellor's measures are not exceptional enough

I can but agree with the Chancellor that these are exceptional times and they require exceptional measures. My complaint, as I have said before, is that it took rather too long for the bulk of the political establishment to accept...

Posted by Brian on November 24, 2008 5:53 PM

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

Spend big, yes, but spend wisely on construction Mr Darling

Just over a week ago I had lunch with three economists, all with more than a passing interest in construction. Oddly, perhaps, for a group of economist there seemed to be a consensus, well at least on one topic. If...

Posted by Brian on October 19, 2008 8:42 PM

Darling's bid might steer construction away from a nasty recession

Less than a fortnight ago I wondered whether we might see a return to Keynesian-style cash injections to buoy the real economy and more specifically construction. I recall other similar comments in the media. Now it seems from stories in...

Posted by Brian on October 19, 2008 5:08 PM

Observations on Beckett's first speech as housing minister: 2

There was one intriguing bit in Margaret Beckett's speech to the Housing Market Intelligence conference yesterday that baffled me at the time and I am glad to say baffled others. She said: "On land supply, there may be ways that...

Posted by Brian on October 16, 2008 3:21 PM

Construction faces a worse recession than in the 1990s, says forecast

My good friend Martin Hewes passed me a copy of the latest forecast from Hewes & Associates. It's not good news, I'm afraid. His last forecast was pretty bleak, this is bleaker still. The headline figure of note is the...

Posted by Brian on October 9, 2008 3:11 PM

With recession a near certainty, the question is how deep

The latest new orders figures and CIPS survey leave little if any room for doubt, construction is dropping into a recession fast and the drop looks deep. The more worrying thing about the figures is that last year forecasters were...

Posted by Brian on October 2, 2008 10:43 AM