Construction Bounce Back in Full Swing Following Beast from the East

For some time, the UK has been struggling a little with blowback from the infamous ‘Beast from the East’ storm. It caused massive delays across the UK and forced many businesses into a recession of working ability. While many companies used the downtime to invest in health and safety training and a refresher for their staff, many have seen their profits plunge. Thankfully, change is afoot, and the industry is slowly but surely getting back on track.

The UK construction industry is arguably among the most under-pressure sectors in the UK at present. While building sites were mostly abandoned and left in idle condition during March, April has shown staunch improvement in working conditions.

The harsh winter is over, and the first inkling of summer weather is upon us. With many staff now emboldened by the spare time being used to take on construction courses, people are getting back to work finally.

The blizzards that hit much of the UK in early 2014 caused a significant stir, leaving large parts of the construction industry in full lockdown. With construction accounting for around 6% of the economy, that’s a positive!

A Positive Movement

With many fearful that the industry could recede majorly following the poor weather, it’s good to see a return to some form of consistency. While it was always an inevitability that poor weather would slow down construction somewhat, the sheer volume of snowfall and poor weather caused a massive halt to performance. 

Indeed, the UK construction purchasing managers index now shows that new work is rising again, albeit modestly. It rose around 5 points from 47 to 52.5. Any figure above 50 is a positive and represents a growth in the industry. While a 2.5 growth margin might not sound like much, it’s green shoots of recovery for an industry that was flailing.

Housebuilding is at the forefront of the increased development. Growth in April, though, has been among the highest we’ve seen in over two years. While other parts of the industry are still lagging, including civil engineering projects, it’s a positive to see some signs of life in the industry once again.

Indeed, construction activity had slumped significantly, with a significant drop-off from February to March. Naturally, bad weather played a role in this, with most construction firms in the UK struggling to maintain any consistency.

Best of all, the UK pound is now on an improved trajectory thanks to the new life being breathed into the economy. This has meant that companies looking to invest in construction training courses might find that it’s a more pertinent investment with a stronger pound and working week.

Overall, though, there’s a lot to be said for the changes that need to be made to the economy as a whole. While this is a positive sign, there’s more work to be done if we wish to restore the industry to pre-blizzard levels and maintain consistent and positive growth.