Construction output decreased slightly again in May

Monthly construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.2% in volume terms in May 2023, per data from the ONS. This is the third consecutive fall in the month-on-month series, with the monthly value in level terms at £15,360 million.

The decrease in monthly output reportedly came solely from a decrease in new work (0.4% fall), with repair and maintenance being flat (0.0%) on the month.

At the sector level, four out of the nine sectors saw a fall in May, with the main contributors to the decrease seen in non-housing repair and maintenance and private housing new work, which decreased 2.5% and 1.7%, respectively.

Anecdotal evidence continued to indicate a slow-down in private housing, referencing customers’ economic worries. Optimistically, however, some businesses across other sectors continued to report an easing in inflation.
An additional bank holiday was held for the coronation of King Charles III on 8 May 2023. The timing of this bank holiday indirectly affected the number of trading days, which could affect construction monthly estimates.

Alongside the monthly decrease, construction output saw an increase of 0.2% in the three months to May 2023; this is the ninth period of consecutive growth in the three-month-on-three-month series. However, this is the weakest growth since the decrease in the three months to August 2022 (0.1% fall). The increase in the three-month-on-three-month series came solely from a rise in repair and maintenance (2.5%), as new work saw a decrease of 1.3%; despite the increase, total repair and maintenance has weakened compared with the strength at the start of the year.
www.ons.gov.uk