Almost half of the members of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) who responded to the organisation鈥檚 latest state of trade survey experienced an increase in both workload and turnover during the second half of 2014.
However, there are indications of a modest slowdown approaching 鈥� the rate of growth declined since the previous survey six months ago. Tender prices, too, appear to have remained largely static, while labour costs continued to rise 鈥� as did materials costs, although at a slower rate than previously.
The survey covered the period from June to December 2014. It revealed a positive 鈥渘et optimism measure鈥� of +39%, some way behind the +49% recorded for the first six months of 2014, but ahead of the +35% reported for the same period in 2013.
Regionally, the percentage of respondents who felt more optimistic about their future prospects ranged from +28% in London and the southeast to +80% in Wales.
More than a third said that they were now employing more people than six months ago, while more than half of respondents reported no change in their direct employment levels.
To the surprise of the B&ES, members鈥� engagement with building information modelling (BIM) had fallen since the previous survey 鈥� with only 26% of respondents handling projects that involved BIM, down from 35% last time.
B&ES president Andy Sneyd said that the survey results painted a slightly less bright picture than might have been expected. 鈥淐ertainly, anecdotal evidence provided by my fellow members in recent times has given the impression that the upturn in UK construction is rather more sustained than these figures suggest,鈥� he said.
A total of 15% of B&ES member firms took part in the sixth B&ES state of trade survey. The research was undertaken in January by independent consultant Lychgate Projects.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
