01274 505696 info@pmdrs.co.uk
02H64918

Bounce back for UK construction

The latest IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has shown that growth in the UK construction sector reached a 17-month high in May 2017, with an index figure of 56.0 – up sharply from 53.1 in the April survey.

Although it was still significantly below the post-crisis peak of 64.6, seen in January 2014,

“Today’s unexpected bounce back in construction growth is telling, as it suggests the sector could be growing immune to the political turmoil that has plagued British industry in the last year.” Said Mark Robinson, chief executive of the public sector-owned built environment specialist Scape Group.

The driving force behind this upturn in May appears to have been house building, which experienced its fastest rise since the end of 2015. Survey respondents cited a strong pipeline of new development projects and resilient underlying demand conditions.

Although residential work replaced civil engineering as the best-performing category, solid rises were still reported in both civil engineering and commercial building.The survey also revealed a sustained recovery in new work, following a soft patch seen during the first quarter of 2017. Indeed, the rate of expansion was the fastest seen so far in 2017.