In July this year, Germany's construction sector indicated only a marginal decrease in output, remaining above the neutral 50.0 threshold, according to Markit's seasonally adjusted Germany Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). The index was at 50.6 in July, down slightly from June's reading of 50.7
In July, German construction companies noted a second successive drop in new business. The pace of contraction quickened slightly since June and was the fastest since January. Meanwhile, employment levels in Germany’s building sector rose during July, following a slight decline in June.
“Construction output in Germany continued to grow at a snail’s pace in July. The data highlighted that the sector is becoming more and more dependent on work on residential building projects, as civil engineering activity continued to decline at a marked pace and commercial building activity stagnated. The outlook remains lacklustre too, with optimism towards the 12-month outlook dropping to a six-month low, suppliers increasingly struggling to deliver on time and input costs rising at a rate not seen since May 2012,” Oliver Kolodseike, economist at Markit, commented.