Cement News tagged under: construction

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European construction outlook revised

25 June 2012, Published under Cement News

The increasing perception that Greece will default and exit the eurozone together with rising fears of contagion has led Euroconstruct, a group of research institutes and consulting firms, to significantly downgrade its European construction forecasts for this year and next.   At a meeting held last week, the group said Europe's construction forecasts for this year and next have been downgraded from -0.3% to -2.1% in 2012 and from +1.8% to +0.4% in 2013. Looking further ahead, it highlights...

Eurozone April construction output falls

21 June 2012, Published under Cement News

Construction output in the 17 nations that use the euro dropped 2.7 per cent in April compared to the month before, and five per cent from April 2011, the European Union's official statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday. Eurostat also lowered its estimate for the growth of construction output in March, to 11.4 per cent from 12.4 per cent. The decline in construction during April was widespread across the currency area, with building work down six per cent in Germany, 2.3 per cent in Spain...

UK construction output down, recession risk

18 June 2012, Published under Cement News

The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published construction figures for April 2012 showing a fall of 8.5% compared with April 2011. Commenting on the figures, Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association said: ‘With ONS reporting that both manufacturing and construction sectors fell in April, prospects for the UK economy escaping recession in Q2 are dissipating rapidly. It was unfortunately unsurprising to see the sharp fall in construction outpu...

Latest UK construction new orders a 'worrying sign for housing'

11 June 2012, Published under Cement News

The latest quarterly figures from the UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS) for construction new orders released Friday show that construction orders in 1Q12 were 3.6 per cent lower than the same quarter one year ago and new orders for housing were 21 per cent lower than a year earlier. However, there were some positive signs in some sectors. Commenting on the new orders data, Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association said: “With government cuts impacti...

UK construction sector activity 'slowed' in May - survey

07 June 2012, Published under Cement News

Growth in the UK construction sector slowed to a three-month low in May, according to a survey. The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index (PMI) for construction fell to 54.4 last month, from 55.8 in April. However, the reading indicates that the sector is still growing, as a figure above 50 implies expansion. Office for National Statistics figures found a fall in construction output in the first quarter of 2012 contributed to the economy contracting. The latest ONS figures, releas...

Euro output rebounds in March

22 May 2012, Published under Cement News

Euro-construction output rose in March at the fastest rate in at least a decade, rebounding after severe winter conditions in February. Construction output in the 17 nations that use the euro jumped 12.4 per cent in March from February, the first rise since November and the biggest since records began in 2001, the region's statistics agency Eurostat said. Large rises in construction activity in the region’s largest economies were behind March's increase, with German construction in part...

Infrastructure investments to secure steady annual growth of FDI to Africa

15 May 2012, Published under Cement News

Scaling up regional infrastructure projects will facilitate intra- and inter-regional trade, create integrated energy markets through regional power pools, support water resources management, and spur economic growth, says private equity leader. A growing emphasis on opening infrastructure investment to the private sector will both catalyse African economic growth and attract substantial foreign direct investment, the founder of Africa’s largest private equity firm said yesterday at the ...

UK construction recession deeper than estimated

14 May 2012, Published under Cement News

Latest data from the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that construction output fell by 5% in the first quarter of 2012, considerably worse than the estimate of -3% that ONS previously indicated for GDP in the 1Q. Commenting on these latest figures, Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association said:  “The construction industry is now firmly back in recession and, although there are some areas of growth, such as private housing, the overall picture s...

MPA figures highlight need for UK construction investment

30 April 2012, Published under Cement News

The UK's Mineral Product Association (MPA) results for the first quarter of 2012 indicate a substantial reduction in sales of aggregates, ready mixed concrete and asphalt, confirming the latest GDP figures which show that declining construction activity has dragged the UK back into recession.   Compared with the same period of 2011, sales volumes of crushed rock and sand and gravel aggregates declined by 13% and 12% respectively in the first three months of 2012 and sales volumes of ready-mi...

UK construction returns to recession

26 April 2012, Published under Cement News

Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) for GDP in the first quarter of 2012 show that the UK economy and construction industry returned to recession with a fall of 0.2% fall and 3% respectively. Commenting on these figures, Noble Francis, Construction Products Association Economics Director said: "Given the sharp effects of public sector spending cuts over the past 12 months it is unsurprising to see that construction returned to recession in the first quarter with a fall of 3...