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The latest FMB State of Trade survey produced the strongest results for three years with almost half (42%) of builders reporting a rise in workloads and only 13% seeing a decline. The healthy picture is fairly consistent across the country, with the strongest results in the North West, where 77% reported higher workloads, and London, which posted the greatest improvement on second quarter results. Wales and the West Midlands were the only regions not to report overall growth.
The slowdown of the domestic property market seems to be having little effect on repair, maintenance, and improvement work (RM&I) in this sector; only 7% of builders reported a fall in this type of work, with 27% seeing an increase. Figures for private new build are down slightly on the previous quarter, with a weighted percentage balance (i.e. the difference between those reporting higher and lower levels of work) of +4% (down from +12% in Q2). The most significant change, however, is in the public non-residential sector where both new build and RMI work recorded the strongest results since the start of 1999.
Said FMB director general, Ian Davis:
"The strength of the latest results show that rumblings of a possible crash in house prices have had little effect on home owner confidence to date. House developers are showing more caution than earlier in the year and the result this quarter, though still positive, is lower than predicted in our last survey.
"In the public sector, it will be interesting to see if the growth on non-residential new build and RMI work continues, or if last quarter's peak was due to work on school buildings during the summer holidays."
Looking ahead over 80% of builders expect levels of work to increase or remain the same in the fourth quarter, with a similar figure (77%) reporting the number of enquiries for work beyond this period remaining steady or increasing.
In line with the strong workload results, employment trends in the third quarter were also up, with 28% reporting an increase over the second quarter, and a further increase expected in the final three months of the year. This points to continuing shortages of skilled labour and 66% of respondents experienced recruitment problems, with carpenters, bricklayers and plumbers being the most difficult to find.
First posted: 28 October 2004. Last modified: 28 October 2004.
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