According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2021-2022/Q4 2021 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), in the second quarter this year, construction output in the EU rebounded by 18.6 percent, following an increase of 2.6 percent in the first quarter.
According to the EUROFER report, in line with actual production volumes, gross fixed investment in construction in the EU in the second quarter grew by 16.5 percent year on year. Growth in the second quarter was fueled by the increase of 17.9 percent in residential investments boosted by mortgage rates at record lows.
EUROFER said it expects construction output in the EU to rebound by 6.4 percent in 2021 and by 4.2 percent in 2022, compared to 5.5 percent and 4.5 percent respectively in the previous forecast.
Civil engineering is expected to boost the construction industry’s performance amid public investment in infrastructure. This segment will be supported by EU-wide public policies whose effects will be seen only to a limited extent in 2022.
EUROFER stated that the current global supply chain issues have also started impacting the construction industry particularly in terms of materials, adding that this may have repercussions on the outlook for the industry over the next months.