UK Construction Sector Shows Glimmers of LIght Amidst Massive Contraction

UK 10 September 2009 - New construction orders in the three months ending July were up 2% on the previous three month period, but down some 24% on a year earlier according to new data released today by the Office for National Statistics.

This -- for me -- definitively shows that while construction has taken a battering in the last 18 months, like many other industry sectors it has turned the corner and is currently on the rebound.

In another surprising figure, public infrastructure orders were up 26% in the three months ending July compared to the previous 3 months. This again shows that the UK has employed a similar method of stimulus as France, in increasing the amount of work that it contracts from the struggling construction industry.

Apart from those glimmers of light, the overall picture is still of a construction industry that is massively contracted and struggling to get back on its feet. But at least there are glimmers of light there now.