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Construction sector activity picked up slightly in the second quarter of 2018 as the sector bounced back from the collapse of Carillion and the cold winter weather, the Construction Products Association (CPA) has said.
According to the latest report 15% of main contractors reported increased output in the second quarter of 2018, compared with just 5% in January to March. Small and medium-sized (SME) contractors also saw increased workloads in the second quarter with 23% compared to 8% in the first.
Housing saw the greatest increase in activity, with two-thirds of main contractors reported a rise activity in public housing output.
Almost half (42%) of main contractors reported a rise in tender prices in the second quarter of 2018.
The report noted that the poor performance for the first three months of 2018 represented a “blip” due to extreme cold and a hiatus in building projects managed by Carillion, which collapsed in January.
The report stated that housing was a key driver of growth in the second quarter of the year
It said:“As activity gets underway on the government-funded shared ownership and affordable homes programme after several years of uncertainty, and private new build for SMEs as demand remains supported by Help to Buy…
“On the labour side, contractors continued to report difficulties in recruiting on-site labour, especially in trades linked to housebuilding such as plasterers, bricklayers and carpenters/ joiners.”
The CPA represents the UK’s manufacturers and distributors of construction products and materials.
The body’s quarterly trade survey brings together results of separate surveys from members of industry bodies including Build UK, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, the CPA, the Federation of Master Builders and the National Federation of Builders.
Rebecca Larkin, senior economist at the CPA, said: “Order books at the start of the year had suggested there was scope for catching up with some of the work lost in the opening three months and the survey confirms the industry made a tentative start in the second quarter."