Construction output has decreased in volume in October, due to a drop in repair and maintenance despite an increase in new work, latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows.
According to ONS, monthly construction output fell 0.4 per cent in October 2024, following an increase of 0.1 per cent in September 2024.
In August, monthly construction output 0.6 per cent, following a 0.4 per cent increase in July which marked the end of a two-month period of sustained growth.
The fall in monthly output in this month came solely from repair and maintenance, which fell by 1.3 per cent as new work grew by 0.2 per cent.
By sector, four out of the nine saw decreases in October 2024, with the main contributor being private housing repair and maintenance, which fell by 3.8 per cent.
However, construction output is estimated to have grown by 0.4 per cent in the three months to October 2024, compared with the three months to July 2024.
New work increased by 1.7 per cent but repair and maintenance fell by 1.2 per cent.
Charlotte Whincup, director of Bloom Building Consultancy, said: “Construction has held onto its crown as the fastest growing industry in Britain’s shrinking economy, but its grip is loosening.
“Its growth of 0.4 per cent in the three months to the end of October was respectable rather than riproaring, and comfortably above the feeble 0.1 per cent expansion posted by the economy as a whole during the quarter.”
Within new work, the largest contributor to the increase came from infrastructure new work, which grew by 3.0 per cent.
The largest negative contributor in repair and maintenance came from private housing repair and maintenance, which fell by 4.0 per cent.
The latest quarterly statistics showed that construction output increased by 0.8 per cent in volume in Q3, due to increases in new work (2.0 per cent) despite a fall in repair and maintenance (0.6 per cent).
Whincup continued: “Today’s official data [for October] confirms for the first time how badly things slowed in the weeks leading up to the Budget. Nearly half of the construction industry’s subsectors contracted during October, and output across construction as a whole shrivelled.
“The data also shows just how divergent the fortunes of different parts of the industry have become.
Commercial property is holding its own and demand from infrastructure projects remains strong, but housebuilding saw further declines in output.
“All this underlines what a mountain the Government has to climb with the planning reforms it hopes will kickstart a flurry of housebuilding across the greenbelt.
“The high cost of land and planning red tape are only parts of the puzzle of course – the high cost of finance is another. If there is one ray of light from Britain’s shrinking economy, it’s that it may strengthen the Bank of England’s resolve to keep trimming interest rates in 2025.
“Making it cheaper for developers to buy land and build homes will go a long way towards re-energising the battered residential construction sector.”
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