Construction output grew in the third quarter (Q3) of this year, although new orders declined by more than a fifth, according to government figures.
Output rose by 0.8 per cent from July through September compared with the previous three months, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said construction performed well despite “subdued” growth across most industries in the latest quarter.
The volume of repair and maintenance work fell by 0.6 per cent in Q3, compared with the previous quarter.
Additionally, output grew by 0.1 per cent in September compared with August, which itself had seen 0.6 per cent growth on the month before.
Scott Motley, head of programme, project and cost management at consultancy Aecom, hailed the industry’s “impressive run of form” and said a more certain pipeline of work should give firms a boost going into 2025, despite the prospect of increased labour costs.
Fraser Johns, finance director at contractor Beard, added that the modest growth “highlights the resilience and potential within our sector”.
However, new orders declined by 22 per cent in Q3, decreasing in value by £2.7bn compared with the previous quarter. The largest fall was in non-housing work, which dropped by £1.7bn. Orders for offices, entertainment buildings and shops all decreased in the latest quarter, according to the ONS data.
In all, the industry received £9.7bn in new orders from July through September – the lowest level since the final quarter of 2023, which saw £9.1bn in orders.
The slowdown might be attributed to investors delaying decisions ahead of the Autumn Budget in October, said Clive Docwra, managing director of property and construction at consultancy McBains.
“However,” he added, “our clients in many work sectors are still feeling bullish for the long term, and will be hoping this represents merely a blip in the recent recovery.”
Despite the fall in new orders, Motley said chancellor Rachel Reeves’ speech last night (14 November) to financial services firms at Mansion House signalled that infrastructure investment was important to the government’s growth agenda.
Motley added: “The task for the sector will be seizing on these opportunities effectively and helping align private funding with public sector investment so that schemes get on site quickly.”
