Thursday 5 November 2020

UK construction

Construction News reports that almost 4,500 construction firms have fallen into financial distress in the third quarter of 2020. The Construction Index reports that profit warnings from stock market listed construction companies have reached a record high:
Most of these warnings (60%) have come from the building materials subsector, as the impact of Covid-19 travelled through the supply chain, rather than from contractors and engineers as found in previous years. 
Meanwhile, today’s Bank of England forecasts show that hopes of a V-shaped recovery have faded. The Bank now predicts the UK economy will shrink by 11% this year – including a 2% contraction in October to December.


In the world of aggregates, the Mineral Products Association points to a recovery over the summer, but now has concerns about winter order books.
 
In the third quarter of 2020, sales volumes were 1.1% lower for asphalt than in the same period in 2019, 6.8% lower for primary aggregates, 14.2% lower for mortar and 14.3% lower for ready-mixed concrete. Industry data on contracts for new construction projects suggest work may be feeding through, but heavy-side building material producers have yet to see a significant pick-up in orders.