Index shows construction area growing constantly

The Ulster Bank purchasing managers index has shown that construction activity is growing for the 32nd successive month.

Government spending on roads and other infrastructure has helped the construction industry. Civil engineering remains the strongest area. Among other things, it involves roads, bridges, water supply, sewer, flood control and traffic.
Pat McArdle, chief economist at Ulster Bank highlighted the unlikelihood of such an occurrence.
“This is uncommon. You have to go back to 2001 to find a previous example of civil leading the posse. Government capital spending is clearly a major explanatory factory,” he said.

Total activity in the construction sector was up to 57.2 from 56.6 in the previous month. New order volumes and business expansion were among the reasons why activity was growing.
Mr McArdle stated, though, that there were some concerns in the commercial area. He said that this area was well beneath earlier index levels. It was, he said, the “laggard” of three subsectors.