The 1.1% growth in construction is welcome news after the 0.9% fall in construction output in the three months to January 2024, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to newly released data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “The continued decline in new building work in the three months to January is deeply concerning, with an overall decrease in output for the industry being seen.
“However, there is positive news for small, local builders, as the figures show positive growth for the repair, maintenance and improvement sector, which increased by 4%.
“Worryingly, the new work from private housing saw a fall of 5.2%. With the country going through a housing crisis, last week’s Spring Budget was a missed opportunity to boost housing output.”
Construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.9% in the three months to January 2024; this came solely from a decrease in new work (4.5% fall), as repair and maintenance increased by 4.0%.
The decrease over the three months came from infrastructure new work and private housing new work, which fell 9.3% and 5.2%, respectively; with the main positive contributions coming from non-housing repair and maintenance, and private housing repair and maintenance, which increased 3.2% and 3.3%, respectively.
Monthly construction output is estimated to have increased 1.1% in volume terms in January 2024; this follows three consecutive monthly falls, with the monthly value in levels terms at £15,422 million in January 2024.
The increase in monthly output came from increases in both new work (1.1%) and repair and maintenance (1.2%).
At the sector level, six out of the nine sectors saw a rise in January 2024; the main contributors to the monthly increase were private new housing, and non-housing repair and maintenance, which increased 2.6% and 1.9%, respectively.
Berry continued: “The construction industry has had a tough time but the 1.1% increase in growth for January suggests a more promising future for 2024. It’s encouraging for small building companies that repair and maintenance work is accounting for much of the positive growth. SME builders have kept the industry going during this tough time and are well placed to boost economic growth if the barriers they face building more homes could be reduced.
“As we approach the General Election the political parties should be supporting the building industry to build more homes and improve the ones we have as the best means to help turbo charge the economy in the years ahead.”
