INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Q3 2024 edition of Construction Market Intelligence, RLB’s insightful, up-to-date guide to construction activity around the UK incorporating our quarterly tender price forecast.
RLB Tender Price Uplift for 2024, as at Q3 2024, is:
2.97%
Previous forecast for 2024: 3.38%
Improving market confidence dependent on new government’s management of economy
In construction, generally, levels of new work output have been falling for well over a year, but the falls have been reducing in percentage terms, suggesting something of a turnaround being underway. Notably, overall repair and maintenance work output volumes have grown in the same period, following on from project cancellations and reticence regarding investment.
More recently, however, from the standpoint of new orders in the industry, the first two quarters of the year showed significant growth of nearly 18% and over 16% respectively in new work orders, albeit from the low base of last year.
Reports from RLB’s regional offices around the UK suggest the outlook is becoming broadly more positive. The reduction in the base rate of interest to 5%, if followed up by more falls, should help confidence levels across the board, and assist in bringing more investment into play.
Of course, this is dependent on the economy returning balanced growth and general price inflation. The new Labour government is still faced with the need to balance the budget – yet encourage that growth without ‘frightening the horses’ of the markets.
What cannot be resolved overnight is the ongoing labour shortages reported by so many contractors and subcontractors. Following on from previous volatility in material prices, the new focus now falls more squarely on labour inputs, lending weight to the need for political solutions and planned programmes of skills development.
