According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2021-2022/Q3 2021 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), in the first quarter this year construction activities in the EU improved quarter on quarter. In the given period, construction output in France, Italy and Austria grew, while it fell in most other European countries, including Germany and Spain.
According to the EUROFER report, in line with actual production volumes, gross fixed investment in construction in the first quarter grew by 1.5 percent compared to the previous quarter and rose by 1.9 percent year on year, after four consecutive quarter-on-quarter drops that were caused by deteriorating conditions in 2020.
EUROFER said it expects construction output in the EU to rebound by 5.5 percent in 2021 and by 4.5 percent in 2022.
Civil engineering is expected to be an important growth area for the construction sector as governments invest in infrastructure as a tool to boost economic performance. This segment will be supported by EU-wide public policies whose effects will be seen only to a limited extent during 2021.