Citation
(2002), "Construction begins 2002 on back foot - RICS consstruction survey, fourth quarter 2001", Property Management, Vol. 20 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2002.11320bab.003
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited
Construction begins 2002 on back foot - RICS consstruction survey, fourth quarter 2001
Construction begins 2002 on back foot - RICS consstruction survey, fourth quarter 2001
The “crane count” in the City of London has fallen in recent months. This sits alongside the “cappuccino index” as one of the more anecdotal economic indicators, in this case, of the health of the construction industry and well being of the economy as a whole. A survey from the RICS published today confirmed that construction industry activity and profit expectations had cooled right across the sector and throughout the UK.
Chartered surveyors reported the first decline in construction workloads since the beginning of 1996. A total of 1 per cent more surveyors reported a drop in workloads during quarter four 2001 than reported a rise, compared to 16 per cent more reporting a rise in quarter three.
Uncertainty over the economic outlook played the major part in this lull as it impacted on business investment. Growth in commercial property has come to a virtual standstill and the recession in manufacturing is further undermining industrial construction.
On the upside, confidence has not slipped to 1998 levels (after the emerging markets crisis) with increased public sector work in the pipeline for 2002. There is a belief that the economy is now better equipped to weather the storm than during the recession of the early 1990s. With interest rates at historically low levels, the construction industry is expected to escape the sharp and protracted collapse in output and employment witnessed at that time.
Labour availability eased slightly in the fourth quarter last year though still remaining tight. There were slight drops in the number of surveyors reporting shortages in bricklayers, carpenters and plasterers. But good news for plumbers, who remain as much in demand as in quarter three with 35 per cent of surveyors reporting shortages.