“A rise in government-funded public projects has helped stabilise the flow of new starts in the construction sector, it has been claimed.

According to analyst Glenigan, the year-on-year decline in public spending on construction projects was nine per cent last month, an improvement on the 30 per cent annual decline in May.

Project starts during the three months to August increased in the east of England, the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber, although London and the Midlands experienced falls in August.

Glenigan’s economics director Allan Wilen commented that in the coming months the pace of decline in the private sector is set to slow, while, in contrast, the recent increase in public sector project starts is likely to lose momentum during the second half of 2009.

"More encouragingly new renewable energy projects and spending on rail and road infrastructure will sustain the increase in civil engineering project starts throughout the remainder of 2009," he concluded.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s construction purchasing managers index rose to 47.7, an improvement on July’s 47 points and June’s 44.5.

However, it remained below the 50 mark, which represents the point which divides contraction from growth.”

Source: ECA, September 2009

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 9:29 am and is filed under Industry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.