ONS: Storms impact on February Construction

Monthly construction output decreased by 0.1% to £14,610 million in volume terms in February 2022 compared with January 2022. This is the first monthly decrease since October 2021 (a fall of 0.9%) following three consecutive months of growth.

Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin bought heavy rain across much of Great Britain between 16 to 21 February 2022, as detailed in the Met Office’s February 2022 release. For the construction industry this caused delays and some projects to be suspended. This was because more working days were lost on sites and premises than normal for this time of the year. However, some businesses reported a positive impact as they picked up repair and maintenance work caused from storm damage.

The monthly all work construction output index decreased

for the first time since October 2021

Anecdotal evidence from returns received for both our Monthly Business Survey for Construction and Allied Trades and our Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) suggested some of the issues in sourcing construction products remained. High costs and shortages of materials, particularly for the smaller sized firms, are still mentioned.

Despite these challenges, demand continued to be strong.  New orders in the construction industry grew by 9.2% in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2021 compared with Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2021. All sectors recovered to above their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) level. For more information see our Construction output in Great Britain: December 2021, new orders and Construction Output Price Indices, October to December 2021 bulletin.

Public housing repair and maintenance was the only repair and maintenance sector to remain below its pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) level