Reaction to latest ONS construction industry output figures

The Vinden Partnership say economic uncertainty continues to unsettle the construction industry.

The Office of National Statistics has released January’s figures on construction industry output and shows a 0.2% drop in comparison with December.

There was a 0.8% fall in all new work, which was offset by an increase in the repair and maintenance sector of the same amount.

When compared to the same period in 2016, there was a decrease of 0.8%.

New work saw decreases in public new housing of 10.6% and infrastructure falling by 8.6%. These drops were offset by increases in private commercial (4.7%), public other new work (1.6%), private industrial (0.7%) and private new housing (0.6%).

The Office of National Statistics revised its previous fourth quarter figures, changing the reported drop of 0.4% with an actual growth of 0.3%.

Looking at the previous three months (November 2015, December 2015, January 2016) in comparison to the three previous months before them, construction output rose by 1.1%.

New orders for the fourth quarter slipped 0.5% compared with the previous quarter but was up 1.4% year-on-year.

Peter Vinden, Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership – a leading multi-disciplinary consultant company to the built environment – said: “Given recent figures and the terrible weather, this fall in construction industry output is not unexpected.

“The cloud of economic uncertainty also continues to hang over the sector and it remains to be seen how long this will last.

“There is hope, however, that the construction industry will continue to sustain growth as the government’s housebuilding commitment and large infrastructure projects press ahead.”

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