Construction sector in Germany records steepest increase in activity since early-2011
Staff Writer |
A warmer than usual January resulted in a sharp and accelerated increase in total industry activity across Germany’s constructor sector, according to the latest PMI survey data from IHS Markit.
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On a seasonally adjusted basis, housing and commercial activity rose at some of the fastest rates seen in the survey’s 18-and-a-half year history, while growth in new orders was at a record-high.
The headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – which measures changes in the level of total industry activity compared with one month ago – rose sharply from 53.7 in December to 59.8, its highest reading since March 2011 (and the joint-fourth best seen since the survey began in late-1999).
All areas of the construction sector performed strongly during the month, with the respective rates of expansion in housing and commercial activity among the fastest on record.
The latter saw the strongest overall growth in January, the third month in a row in which this has been the case.
The level of work on civil engineering projects also increased, thereby reversing the back-to-back contractions seen in the final two months of 2017.
New orders received by German constructors rose for the second month running in January.
Furthermore, having picked up considerably from the modest pace seen in December, the rate of growth was the fastest recorded in the series history.
Construction firms upped their rate of job creation to accommodate sector in Germanythe increased levels of activity and new orders, with the extent of the rise in payroll numbers in January bettered only once in the survey history.
There was also a substantial increase in the use of sub-contractors, the likes of which had never been seen before.
Constructors’ quantities of purchases exhibited a similar trend, rising at a rate rarely seen since the survey’s inception.
This extra demand for raw materials and building components placed greater pressure on suppliers, whose delivery times were shown to have worsened for a fortieth straight month in January.
That said, the deterioration in vendor performance was the least marked since last March.
On the cost front, January’s survey indicated a further steep increase in average prices paid for purchases.
The rate of inflation picked up slightly from that seen in December and was well above the historical series trend.
It did, however, remain below last October’s recent peak. ■