According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2019-2020/Q1 2019 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), EU construction industry output rose by 5.1 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2018, resulting in an average quarterly growth rate of 5.0 percent year on year over the first three quarters of the year.
EU construction activity is estimated to have expanded by 3.9 percent year on year in the final quarter of 2018, supported by the ongoing strength of the construction market. On balance, total construction activity is estimated to have risen by 4.6 percent in 2018.
EUROFER said that strong order inflows in recent quarters, and capacity limitations, will mitigate the slowdown in 2019, but its effect will be felt more deeply in 2020. Supply constraints will remain an issue. Several EU countries face tight capacity and serious labor shortages in the construction sector, thereby limiting potential production growth.
According to EUROFER, total EU construction output is forecast to rise by 2.1 percent in 2019 and by 1.2 percent in 2020, year on year.