In the second quarter this year, the construction industry output volume in Great Britain in seasonally adjusted, constant (2005) prices was estimated to be 1.4 percent higher compared to the first quarter of the year, according to a report released by the UK-based Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Comparing the second quarter of the current year with the same quarter one year earlier, the volume of construction output in Great Britain decreased by 0.5 percent. New work was lower by one percent with large falls in public other new work and private-commercial other new work, which reported decreases of 12.3 percent and 8.2 percent respectively.
Commenting on the survey, Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association (CPA), said, "Construction growth in Q2 is encouraging. As house building - boosted until 2016 by government-backed schemes to help working people buy a home - is a key driver, this growth should be sustained. We must recognise, however, that this growth builds on Q1's historically low level when output was at its worst since 2001."
Meanwhile, forecasts from the CPA anticipate that construction output will rise 2.2 percent in 2014 and by a further 4.5 percent in 2015, driven by both private housing and infrastructure. Mr. Francis said that, to ensure growth in infrastructure, it is essential that all the announcements by the government over the past three years actually turn into activity on the ground. This has not happened so far, as infrastructure output fell 13 percent last year, he added.