8 April, 2021 SHARE Increased construction output in March is welcome but needs to be sustained with a long-term National Retrofit Strategy to green our homes if the Government is to hit its climate change targets, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to the latest construction PMI data.
The recovery in UK construction output gained considerable momentum in March, supported by robust rises in house building, commercial work and civil engineering. Adjusted for seasonal influences, the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index registered 61.7 in March, up sharply from 53.3 in February.
The latest reading signalled the strongest rate of construction output growth since September 2014. Housebuilding (index at 64.0) was the best-performing category, with growth the fastest since July 2020. Strong increases in activity were also seen in commercial construction (62.7) and civil engineer
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By Tom Lowe2021-01-07T12:01:00+00:00
Housebuilding drives increase in construction activity
Optimism among construction firms rose to its highest level in nearly four years last month, according to the latest CIPS/IHS Markit report.
Improving client demand and a boost for workloads from new wins on projects deferred at the start of the covid-19 pandemic saw the growth in order books remain close to November’s six-year high, when new orders increased at the fastest rate since October 2014.
New order levels increased in December for the seventh month in a row.
The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index in December held firm at 54.6, barely changed from the balance of 54.7 seen the month before. Optimism was at its highest level since April 2017.