The latest ONS figures show monthly construction output decreased by 0.1% in volume terms in February 2022, which was the first monthly decrease since October 2021.
This decline follows an upwardly revised 1.6% increase in January 2022.
Anecdotal evidence from returns received for the Monthly Business Survey for Construction and Allied Trades suggested the storms experienced between 16 and 21 February 2022 resulted in projects being delayed, as more working days were lost on sites and premises than normal for this time of the year.
The decrease in monthly construction output in February 2022 came from a decrease in repair and maintenance (0.5%) as new work saw a slight increase of 0.1% on the month.
After a testing two years, the construction sector’s recovery appears promising but risks masking the continued pressures small builders face with materials and labour, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), in response to the ONS data.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Construction as a whole is on up year on year, but local builders continue to operate in an extremely challenging environment, facing difficulties in sourcing affordable materials and labour.
“The FMB’s recent membership survey highlighted the severity of these pressures, with 95% of local builders reporting increased material costs and upwards of 40% struggling to recruit for key trades such as carpentry and bricklaying. Faced with rampant inflationary pressures and significant uncertainty regarding the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, smaller building firms look set to suffer at a time when consumers are tightening their belts.
“I urge government to take a proactive approach to reduce the difficulties faced by local building firms. A move that would act as a boost for builders and reduce long terms costs for consumers would be the introduction of a National Retrofit Strategy – a measure sorely missed in the Government’s Energy Security Strategy. This would create demand for retrofit projects, that local builders will then deliver and cut energy bills for customers.”
At the sector level, the ONS concluded the main contributors to the decline in February 2022 were infrastructure, and non-housing repair and maintenance, which decreased by 2.5% and 0.9% respectively.
The level of construction output in February 2022 was 1.1% (£155 million) above the February 2020 pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) level; new work was 3.7% (£354 million) below, while repair and maintenance work was 10.2% (£509 million) above.
Despite the monthly decrease, construction output rose 2.4% in the three months to February 2022; this is the strongest growth in the three-month-on-three-month series since June 2021 (4.0%), with similar increases seen in both new work, and repair and maintenance (2.2% and 2.6% respectively).
