The reading is slightly lower than in July but still looks good. New order growth remains strong while housing activity rebounded to its fastest pace since September 2022. Commercial activity remains the best performing sector but all sectors – including civil engineering – are growing, so this roughly sums up the broad-based strength. HCOB notes that:
“The UK construction sector appears to have turned the corner after a difficult start to 2024, with renewed activity in housebuilding the most notable development in August. Residential work expanded at the fastest pace in nearly two years as lower borrowing costs and a gradual recovery in market conditions helped boost activity.
“The commercial construction sector was the best performing part of the construction sector as the improving economic backdrop in the UK led to a rise in order books, but the post-election recovery in demand faded somewhat in August.
“There was another strong expansion in new business in August, highlighting that the start of new projects is set to support a broader recovery in construction activity over the coming months.
“Improving sales pipelines and improving demand conditions have led to a relatively strong degree of business optimism in the construction sector. However, some firms cited slowing civil engineering activity and concerns over the outlook for infrastructure work as constraints to growth expectations.”
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