News 5
Increase in construction output boosts UK economic growth
ACCORDING TO the Office for National Statistics (ONS), construction output in October rose by 2.2% compared with September and by 5.3% compared with a year earlier. In addition, the ONS has also made significant revisions to output during the first three quarters of 2013, which will also boost UK GDP.
Buoyant construction new orders for Q3 should also ensure further industry growth into 2014.
Commenting on the ONS figures, Dr Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association said: “The latest output figures highlight that the recovery in construction since the weather-affected Q1 continues unabated.
“Growth of 2.2% in October adds to the upward revisions in output during the first three
quarters and overall this will boost UK economic activity by an additional £1.5bn. “Unsurprisingly, private housing has been the key driver of recent output growth. “Demand in the housing market has been boosted by Help to Buy and, as a consequence, output in the sector rose 6.2% in October compared with September and 16.9% compared with a year earlier.
“In addition, output in the largest construction sector, private commercial, rose 0.8% in October compared with September and grew 8.7% compared with a year ago, driven primarily by major projects in London.
“Looking forward, the ONS also reported that new orders for construction in Q3 were broadly flat compared with Q2 but considerably higher
than one year earlier, with double-digit annual growth in the private housing and commercial sectors, suggesting that the recent growth should also continue into 2014.” According to the latest CBI Industrial Trends Survey, the sector continued to strengthen with order books and output touching an 18-year high for the second consecutive month. The survey of nearly 400 manufacturers found that both the size of total order books and the pace of output growth over the past three months were once again the highest recorded since 1995. Export orders also rose considerably, reaching their strongest level for 22 months, with the improvement mainly driven by the chemicals and motor vehicles and transport equipment sectors. Growth in output volumes over the three
months to December remained robust, with another steep rise across most sectors – 14 out of 16 sectors reported growth with motor vehicles and transport equipment the largest contributor.
Manufacturers expect output growth to continue over the coming three months although at a somewhat slower pace.
Gallant
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ACR News February 2014
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