Credit: Highlights of the March 2016 UK Markit CIPS construction PMI data report 4 April 2016
- Prior 54.2
- Housing activity 50.3 vs 53.0 prior
Unchanged on last month and the sector records it's 35th month in expansion . Markit note that new work slowed again and housing activity was at the weakest since Jan 2013. Hiring slowed a touch too to the lowest since Jun 2013.
Tim Moore at Markit wasn't overjoyed;
"March's survey confirms that the UK construction sector is experiencing its weakest growth phase since the summer of 2013. Residential building has seen the greatest loss of momentum through the first quarter of 2016, which is a surprising reversal of fortunes given strong market fundamentals and its clear outperformance over the past three years.
Construction firms were reliant on a rebound in commercial building and resurgent civil engineering growth to offset the slowdown in housing activity. Civil engineering delivered its strongest performance for just over a year, suggesting that a healthy pipeline of infrastructure projects continues to boost construction output.
However, heightened uncertainty about the business outlook appears to have weighed on overall construction demand so far in 2016, with survey respondents citing cautious client spending patterns and a reduced willingness to commit to new projects.
As a result, volumes of new work disappointed in March as order book growth slipped for the third month in a row and reached its weakest since the pre-election blip last year."
UK construction PMI
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
