The global construction industry is set to grow by over 5% this year, a new report by GlobalData has suggested.
The report states that the sector is likely to rebound from the “historic collapse” in 2020 triggered by closure of sites and other restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Output in 2021 will be 2.5% higher than the 2019 level, however the report does state that overall output world-wide from the construction sector will be US$1.1trillion lower in 2020-2021 than it would have been if the pandemic hadn’t hit.
GlobalData lead economist Danny Richards said: “In markets where the construction industry has managed to return to relatively normal level of operations since the crisis engulfed the world in Q2 2020, activity has rebounded positively, with signs that in some markets there has been a marked effort to get projects back on track quickly.”
The global contraction also looks to have been slightly less severe than initially thought. GlobalData estimates that global output contracted by 2.5% in 2020 compared to a previous estimate of 2.9%. Excluding China, the contraction stood at 5.1%.
Richards added: “With activity levels trending upwards in the absence of restrictions on site works, there are likely to be record high rates of year-on-year growth in major markets in the coming quarters, given the comparison to periods last year when construction sites were closed or when activity was severely disrupted.
“There are also positive signs for the coming quarters when assessing leading indicators, such as building permits approvals.”
Source: www.newcivilengineer.com
