UK PMI Construction rose to 53.3 in February, up from 49.2, above expectation of 51.5. Markit said the recovery in total output restarted during the month. Increase in commercial activity helped offset housing slowdown. However, there was fastest rise in cost burdens for more than 12 years.
Tim Moore, Economics Director at IHS Markit: “Construction work regained its position as the fastest growing major category of UK private sector output in February. The rebound was supported by the largest rise in commercial development activity since last September as the successful vaccine rollout spurred contract awards on projects that had been delayed at an earlier stage of the pandemic….
“Stretched supply chains and sharply rising transport costs were the main areas of concern for construction companies in February. Reports of delivery delays remain more widespread than at any time in the 20 years prior to the pandemic, reflecting a mixture of strong global demand for raw materials and shortages of international shipping availability. Subsequently, an imbalance of demand and supply contributed to the fastest increase in purchasing costs across the construction sector since August 2008.”
