Official construction output data has revealed more signs of recovery with 0.5 per cent growth in June.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed the estimated increase came from rises in both new work (0.9 per cent), and repair and maintenance (0.1 per cent).
This follows growth of 1.7 per cent (revised from 1.9 per cent) in monthly output in May and -1.0 per cent in April.
Rebecca Larkin, head of construction research at the Construction Products Association told Construction News: “The monthly increase in construction output gives some hope that this heralds the early signs of recovery. Given the across-the-board increases recorded in Q2, we will hopefully see a definitive pickup in activity towards the end of the year and into 2025.”
According to the ONS, seven out of the nine sectors registered growth in June 2024.
The ONS cited as factors the weather improving in June after a wet spring and industry feedback that customers had been holding off on spending during the general election period.
In Q2 2024, total construction new orders grew by 16.5 per cent (£1.77bn) compared with Q1 2024.
Non-housing new orders was the largest contributor to the increase at 15.9 per cent (£1.27bn). This mainly came from new private commercial work, estimated at £503m, on projects including offices, garages and shops. The other main contributor was infrastructure new orders, which increased by 23.4 per cent to £389m.
There was also confidence on pricing. The annual rate of construction output price growth was 1.9 per cent in the 12 months to June 2024.
The official data backs up early industry findings of an uptick in activity.
Earlier this month, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) reported early signs of stability with workloads up 7 per cent and enquiries rising by 3 per cent over the previous three months.
Jeremy Gray, head of policy told CN: “We have seen signs of stability for SME builders. The ONS data matches to our members reporting that the repair maintenance and improvement (RMI) sector is keeping ahead of other areas.
“The monthly rise in demand for output is overall quite promising, but we are still experiencing a huge skills shortage. The new government need to address a long-term skills plan to deliver ambitious growth, and to meet the positive increase in demand.”
Looking ahead, Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist, said new orders in the second quarter should translate into an increase in output over coming months.
“This could herald a change of fortunes for the housing sector, the largest of all the construction sub-sectors and a key engine of growth for construction overall,” he said.
