According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2017-2018/Q1 2017 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), EU construction output fell by 0.7 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2016, following rather muted growth in the first half of last year.
According to EUROFER, there was a marked rebound in activity in France, following eight years of a severe construction slump. Activity in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden continued to grow at a healthy pace, whereas output in Italy, Spain and the UK registered a mild year-on-year decline.
The EUROFER report indicated that the outlook for 2017 and 2018 is for a rebound of construction activity in the EU. The strength of the residential sector will continue, with more western European countries, such as France, seeing signs of recovery from a rather long downturn. The migrant inflows in the EU will also continue to drive demand for residential property. This will also lead to higher construction demand from the private and public services sector, particularly in the retail, leisure, education and health-care sectors. In the UK, Brexit is expected to impact construction demand owing to reduced investor confidence.
In the current year, total EU construction output is forecast to rise by 2.1 percent year on year. In 2018, construction output growth is forecast to accelerate to 2.8 percent.