Construction Output In Great Britain - March 2024, New Orders And Construction Output Price Indices, January To March 2024

10th May 2024

Short-term measures of output by the construction industry in March 2024, contracts awarded for new construction work in Great Britain and a summary of the Construction Output Price Indices (OPIs) in the UK for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024.

Monthly construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.4% in volume terms in March 2024; this came from decreases in both new work (0.7% fall) and repair and maintenance (0.1% fall).

At the sector level, five out of the nine sectors saw a fall in March 2024, with the main contributors to the monthly decrease seen in infrastructure new work, and non-housing repair and maintenance, which decreased 3.6% and 2.4%, respectively.

Quarterly construction output saw a decrease of 0.9% in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 compared with Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023; this came solely from a decrease in new work (1.8% fall), as repair and maintenance increased by 0.3%.

Total construction new orders increased 15.9% (£1,436 million) in Quarter 1 2024 compared with Quarter 4 2023; this quarterly increase came mainly from private commercial new work and public other new work, which increased 27.9% (£700 million) and 43.8% (£536 million), respectively.

The annual rate of construction output price growth was 1.5% in the 12 months to March 2024; this has slowed from the record annual price growth in May 2022 and June 2022 (10.7%).

Construction output in March 2024
Quarterly construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.9% in volume terms in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024. This follows the same level of fall (0.9%) in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023. Both these quarters are the largest negative growth in the quarterly data series since Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2021 (1.8% fall).

Monthly construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.4% in volume terms in March 2024. This follows a downwardly revised fall of 2.0% (from negative 1.9%) in monthly construction output in February 2024.

Anecdotal evidence received from returns for the Monthly Business Survey for Construction and Allied Trades (MBS) suggested mixed effects of wet weather decreasing output, but improvement across some sectors within construction because of warmer weather. The Met Office confirmed in their Monthly climate summary (PDF, 4.56MB) that March 2024 was unsettled, wet and dull, and saw cooler weather give way to warmer weather during the month.

Quarter-on-quarter construction output growth in Quarter 1 2024
Construction output fell by 0.9% (£423 million) in Quarter 1 2024. The quarterly fall came solely from a decrease in new work (1.8%), as repair and maintenance saw an increase of 0.3%.

Quarter 1 2024 saw falls in both February 2024 and March 2024, with the only rise in January 2024. Anecdotal evidence suggested negative effects of adverse weather across February 2024 and March 2024, including heavy rainfall decreasing output and delaying work.

Month-on-month construction output growth in March 2024
The 0.4% fall in construction output in March 2024 represents a decrease of £64 million in monetary terms compared with February 2024, with five out of the nine sectors seeing a decrease on the month. The volume in March 2024 is the lowest level of construction output (£15,159 million) since June 2022 (£14,939 million).

New orders in the construction industry in Quarter 1 2024
Total construction new orders increased by 15.9% (£1,436 million) in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024, compared with Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023. This is the highest level of total construction new orders (£10,475 million) since Quarter 1 2023 (£10,791 million). More information can be found in our New orders in the construction industry dataset.

Other new work new orders (that is, non-housing) was the largest contributor to the increase in Quarter 1 2024, increasing by 25.3% (£1,565 million). This mainly came from private commercial new orders, which increased by 27.9% (£700 million) and was driven by increases in offices, health and entertainment. The other main contributor to the increase in other new work was public other new orders, which increased by 43.8% (£536 million).

Housing new orders saw a decrease of 4.5%. This came solely from public new housing, which decreased by 53.6% (£256 million), as private new housing saw an increase of 5.3% (£126 million).

Read the full ONS report with many links and more graphs HERE