Industry leaders upbeat despite fresh slide in construction sector output

0 Allan Callaghan: Seeing strong demand for housing Output from the UK construction sector has suffered its sharpest decline since August 2012, official figures yesterday revealed, though industry bosses urged caution, saying demand remained solid.

Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed construction contin- uing its recent decline, falling by 2.7 per cent in the three months to March.

It marked the biggest fall on a three-month basis since August 2012, and was driven by falls in both repair and maintenance, as well as new work which dropped 2.8 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively. On a month-on-month basis, construction output fell 2.3 per cent in March.

The ONS said a small number of survey respondents said snowy weather affected their business in both February and March, but the statistics agency added that it was difficult to quantify the exact impact that the storms had on the industry.

Allan Callaghan, managing director of Scottish construction business Cruden Building, said: “While disappointing, these figures come at a period where the housebuilding sector is traditionally at its most productive, with the longer, drier days supporting increased work on the ground.

“Furthermore, we’re seeing strong demand for modern and affordable housing across the country and I would expect this trend to continue.

“The ongoing skills shortage remains a crucial challenge for this sector. Without skilled labour we cannot increase output to the levels needed to tackle issues such as the housing gap.”

Official figures were also released showing that manufacturing fell by 0.1 per cent in March compared to February, though survey-led evidence suggested the heavy snowfall had “no significant impact” on output.