Buoyant market for construction contractors – but will it continue?

After the terrible weather which hampered construction projects in the first half of the year, the tables have turned and the industry appears to be enjoying a summer surge.  House building has risen at the fastest rate since December 2015, and construction overall has grown at the fastest rate in over a year, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The overall buoyancy of the market, confirmed by the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), is reflected in the significantly higher numbers of construction industry contractors we have been registering for our CIS, Umbrella and PSC contracting solutions in the past few weeks.

“As one of the UK’s biggest construction industry contractor payment providers we have noticed a significant shift in recent weeks,” says Derek Harling, Managing Director.  “The fact that we are handling so many new registrations on a week-by-week basis tells us the market is buoyant.  Now the official figures have confirmed that activity is on the increase – this is great news for construction contractors.”

Construction News reported that the growth in construction activity has been driven by more projects starting on site combined with contractors catching up on work held up by bad weather in the first quarter.  House building activity has increased alongside, more surprisingly, projects in the commercial sector.

Duncan Brock, Group Director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said: “Looking ahead, though optimism remains at lower than average levels, with the biggest rise in job creation since December 2015, there’s some conviction that the future is brighter, at least in the short-term. Bearing in mind the sector has experienced a number of twists and turns over the last couple of years, we must all remain watchful for any return to uncertainty as Brexit approaches.”