The Office for National Statistics has published an estimate of construction output for November 2021.
Monthly construction output increased by 3.5% in volume terms in November 2021, which is the largest monthly rise seen in construction output growth since March 2021; anecdotal evidence from survey returns suggested the strong demand for work, in combination with supply chain bottlenecks for certain products easing and the unseasonal mild and dry weather were the main reasons for the increase.
The increase in monthly construction output in November 2021 came solely from an increase in new work (5.7%) as repair and maintenance saw a slight decline of 0.2% on the month.
Because of the strong November 2021 monthly growth and minimal revisions to previous months, the level of construction output in November 2021 was 1.3% (£197 million) above the February 2020 pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level; although new work was 1.6% (£148 million) below the February 2020 level, repair and maintenance work was 6.9% (£345 million) above the February 2020 level.
The recovery to date, since the falls at the start of the pandemic, is mixed at a sector level, with infrastructure 49.3% (£923 million) above and private commercial 28.0% (£698 million) below their respective February 2020 levels in November 2021.
Alongside the monthly increase, construction output rose 1.6% in the three months to November 2021, the first three-monthly increase since July 2021, with similar increases seen in both new work, and repair and maintenance (1.5% and 1.6% respectively).
Meanwhile, AMA Research along with Barbour ABI, have created a special Annual Review edition of Snap Analysis.
The blog reveals the story of 2021, highlighting the sectors, sub sectors and regions which were the drivers of last year’s construction industry success will.
Chief Economist, Tom Hall said 2021 ended being a very positive year for contract awards after three subdued years and highlighted the primary causes as being the uncertainty caused by Brexit and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“At this stage, 2021’s strong showing is best interpreted as the filling of a weak pipeline as the outlook has improved: with some certainty over the form of the UK’s exit from the EU and an improving Covid-19 situation,” he continued.
“Certainly, the rebound in some of the commercially sensitive sectors such as residential and offices bodes well for the near term.”
