Construction industry caught in slow lane

“The latest figures show parts of the industry struggling, confirming evidence from Master Builders’ latest survey showing a dramatic turnaround in builder sentiment as commercial and residential building-related stimulus spending programs come to an end.

“The business environment has become much tougher in recent times, not helped by uncertainty regarding the world economy and share market volatility. Today’s release shows that work in the pipeline for the non-residential sector continues to fall, with builders also facing a downturn in forward indicators such as sales and enquiries as evidenced by our surveys,” Jones said.

There was another strong increase in engineering construction in the quarter as projects ramp up from the huge pipeline of resources-related work, particularly in Western Australia and Queensland.

“For the building and construction industry overall, a sectoral divide is opening up, with strong engineering construction fed by the mining boom contrasting with a weak building sector caught in the slow lane of a post GFC economy struggling to transition to a private sector led recovery.” 

For more information visit: www.masterbuilders.com.au