According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2012-2013/Q1 2012 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), EU construction activity grew one percent year on year in the third quarter of 2011, below the second quarter level. Growth for the fourth quarter was estimated to be sluggish as well.
At the country level, Germany, France, Poland and Sweden saw growth in construction activity last year, driven by a recovery in the residential sector, except in Poland where the main growth stimulus was the ongoing boom in civil engineering and non-residential projects. However, construction activity in Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary lost strength in the second half of 2011. The remaining EU countries reported sideways movement.
According to EUROFER, the outlook for the EU construction sector in 2012-2013 remains overall rather fragile, because of the negative impact of austerity programs on public construction investment in most EU countries.
EUROFER predicts that EU construction output will increase by 1-1.5 percent in 2012 and nearly 3 percent in 2013.