Industry news

UK Construction Market Update

Written by Louise Carney | Aug 20, 2024 3:45:24 PM

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have published the latest figures for construction output in June and Q2. Further growth of 0.5% in June resulted in Q2 output almost matching Q1 levels. A summary report extracted from the latest ONS publication is below, including an update on the latest new orders.

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Update for June and Q2 2024

  • Monthly Construction Output:
    • Estimated growth of 0.5% in June 2024.
    • Driven by increases in both new work (0.9%) and repair and maintenance (0.1%).
    • Marks the second consecutive month of growth, following a 1.7% increase in May 2024.
    • April's output was revised upwards by 0.1% to -1.0%, attributed to adverse weather conditions, including heavy rainfall and strong winds.
  • Sector Performance:
    • Seven out of nine sectors recorded growth in June 2024.
    • Significant contributors to the monthly increase:
      • Non-housing repair and maintenance: +3.2%.
      • Private commercial new work: +2.1%.
  • Quarterly Output (Q2 2024):
    • Output in Q2 2024 nearly matched Q1 levels, with a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to Q1 2024.
    • This reduction was due to a decline in new work (-0.5%), while repair and maintenance saw a growth of 0.4%.
    • Five out of nine sectors experienced declines in Q2 2024:
      • Private housing repair and maintenance: -2.6% (£216 million).
      • Public new housing: -8.2% (£112 million).
    • Strongest growth in Q2 was seen in non-housing repair and maintenance, which increased by 3.0% (£300 million).
  • New Orders:
    • Total new orders for construction surged by 16.5% (£1,771 million) in Q2 2024 compared to Q1 2024.
    • Key drivers of this increase:
      • Private commercial new work: +15.1% (£503 million).
      • Infrastructure new work: +23.4% (£389 million).