Skip to main content

Construction industry recovery continues

The latest report from Europe’s contractor association, the FIEC, shows that the recovery of the construction industry should continue, but at a slower pace. The FIEC reports a 2.4% recovery in activity in the overall EU construction industry in 2015 and forecasts an increase of 2.1% in 2016. “After reaching the bottom in 2013 activity is slowly recovering in the construction industry,” said FIEC Vice-President Jean-Louis Marchand, responsible for economic issues, as he presented FIEC’s annual statistics
June 15, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
The latest report from Europe’s contractor association, the FIEC, shows that the recovery of the construction industry should continue, but at a slower pace. The FIEC reports a 2.4% recovery in activity in the overall EU construction industry in 2015 and forecasts an increase of 2.1% in 2016.

“After reaching the bottom in 2013 activity is slowly recovering in the construction industry,” said FIEC Vice-President Jean-Louis Marchand, responsible for economic issues, as he presented FIEC’s annual statistics 2016. “In 2015 the increase in activity has finally been slightly higher than we had initially forecasted and the trend is expected to continue in 2016, but at a slower pace.” He added.

Marchand said, “Overall, EU total construction output amounted to €1,241 billion in 2015, which represents an increase of 2.4% compared to 2014”, reported Marchand. “This is positive, but we will still need time to catch up with the pre-crisis levels.”

According to FIEC’s statistics, developments in the EU show the following results overall

Behind the overall figure for the EU as a whole, disparities between Member States remain significant with Sweden seeing the strongest growth at 10% leading and Greece the weakest, at -15.1%.

The increase in activity in 2015 is mainly due to the 6.2% growth in civil engineering and 3.5% growth in housebuilding.

Rehabilitation and maintenance activity maintained relatively stable development before and throughout the crisis with a 2.6% growth in 2015. This has cushioned the construction sector. This trend is expected to continue in the near future.

Overall civil engineering activity in 2015 increased with a high growth rate of 6.2%, mainly boosted by significant infrastructure investments in the UK. The stronger the construction sector, the greater the demand for construction machines as well as materials. Clearly, a healthy civil engineering sector can help fuel jobs in manufacturing and supplying construction machines as well as sourcing materials such as concrete and asphalt, and driving forward the quarrying sector.

The level of employment in the construction industry increased slightly by 0.9% in 2015. But it should not be forgotten that over the period 2008-2014, the sector lost more than 2 million jobs. Altogether, construction provides jobs for 14.1 million people, which represents 6.4% of Europe’s total employment. This rises to 42.3 million jobs when including the indirect employment generated in related sectors.

In spite of the troubled period, the construction industry remains one of the major engines of Europe’s growth. It represents 8.5% of EU GDP and 3.2 million enterprises – the vast majority of which are SMEs.

Related Content

  • Liebherr sets new record for financial results
    April 7, 2020
    Liebherr has set a new record for its financial results in 2019.
  • Indonesia: bauma 2013’s partner country
    March 22, 2012
    Indonesia has a population of 238 million, a gross domestic product of US$720 billion (2010) and is one of the world's 20 largest economies. The building industry is booming and in the raw materials sector major investment is scheduled for the medium term. “All all of which are good reasons why bauma should focus more closely on this economic region and the exciting opportunities it offers for the future,” says Messe München International (MMI), organiser of bauma 2013, to be held in Munich, Germany, from 1
  • Seismic Reinforcement Materials Market exceeding at 4% CAGR to cross $40bn by 2025
    July 10, 2019
    According to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. Seismic Reinforcement Materials Market will surpass USD 40 billion by 2025. Increasing seismic activities across the globe resulting in loss of life and assets is the prime reason influencing the growth of seismic reinforcement materials market. The products are majorly used in buildings to strengthen the structures in order to minimize damage possibilities during or after earthquakes. Increasing awareness and implementation of various buil
  • Infrastructure spending aids economic growth
    March 14, 2012
    AT THE TIME of year it is worth considering how strong the construction market will be towards the end of 2010 and on into 2011.