A boost in spending from clients in response to the opening of the UK economy, combined with signs that the worst of the supplier delays have passed, resulted in buyers reporting the sharpest increase in business activity in four months.
The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in November scored 55.5 (where 50.0 indicates no change), up from 54.6 in October.
Commercial work rose at its fastest rate (56.5) since July, offsetting a slight slowdown in housebuilding growth (54.7, down from 55.4). Civil engineering was the weakest-performing area in November (53.9), although the latest rise in activity was the largest since August.
Tim Moore, director at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey, said: “November data highlighted a welcome combination of faster output growth and softer price inflation across the UK construction sector. Commercial building led the way as recovering economic conditions ushered in new projects, which helped compensate for the recent slowdown in housebuilding. Major infrastructure work also boosted construction activity in November, as signalled by the fastest growth in the civil engineering category since August.
“Input price inflation remains extremely strong by any measure, but it has started to trend downwards after hitting multi-decade peaks this summer. The latest rise in purchasing costs was the slowest since April, helped by a gradual turnaround in supply chain disruption and a slight slowdown in input buying. Port congestion and severe shortages of haulage capacity were again the most commonly cited reasons for longer lead times for construction products and materials.”
