6
NEWS
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
SEPTEMBER 2014
Summer slowdown
in European market
Construction output falls across continent,
despite recent optimism from many firms
J
une’s production in the construction sector fell 0.7% in the Eurozone, and by 0.3%
in the EU28, compared to the previous month, according to first estimates from
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
In May 2014, production in construction fell by 1.4% in both zones, said Eurostat.
The June 2014 figure showed production in construction fell by 2.3% in the Eurozone
and by 0.5% in the EU28 when compared with June 2013.
The month-on-month decrease of 0.7% in the Eurozone during June 2014 was said
to be a result of building construction falling by 0.9% and civil engineering by 0.5%.
In the EU28, the decrease of 0.3% was attributed to building construction falling by
0.5% and civil engineering by 0.2%.
The largest decreases in production in construction were observed in Hungary
(-7.5%), Spain (-2.9%), Romania (-2.6%) and Slovakia (-2.3%), and the highest increases
in Poland (+2.7%), Germany (+1.2%), the Czech Republic and the UK (both +1.1%).
In the annual comparison, the decrease of 2.3% in production for the Eurozone in
June 2014, was thanks to building construction falling by 2.0% and civil engineering
by 3.4%, said Eurostat. In the EU28, the fact that building construction fell by 0.2% and
civil engineering by 2.7% was said to be the cause of the decrease of 0.5%.
The largest annual decreases in production in construction were registered in
Romania (-13.1%), Portugal (-10.3%), Slovakia (-5.0%) and the Netherlands (-3.5%),
while the highest increases were in Slovenia (+28.7%), Hungary (+9.8%), Poland
(+8.0%) and Spain (+6.8%
Meanwhile, a survey suggests that business will continue to improve for architects
working in the UK and Poland, with growth expected over the next two and a half
years, according to the second quarter 2014 European Architectural Barometer report
from Arch-Vision.
The Barometer shows that Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium will also see
improvement in the coming years while business sentiment remains negative in Italy,
Spain and France, according to the architects surveyed.
According to Arch-Vision, the British market keeps on improving. Of the UK architects
surveyed, 39% of the companies reported an increase of more than 5% in order book.
One of the reasons for this is that the building permits for non-residential buildings
have increased again for the last two quarters. Arch-Vision predicts a 4% growth in the
UK market in 2014, followed by 4% growth in 2015 and a 3% growth in 2016.
ce
World’s top 200
analysis video
China State Construction & Engineering
Corporation (CSCEC) has for the third year
running topped
CE
sister magazine
International
Construction’s
ranking of the world’s 200 largest
construction companies, according to editor
Chris Sleight in a video available on
.
And in another, global outlook video, Chris
finds that market studies, economic forecasts
and a range of anecdotal evidence point to
broad recoveries in the global construction and
construction equipment industries.
As in the 2013 edition of the top 200 ranking,
there were four other Chinese contractors in the
top ten. These included the country’s two major rail
construction groups – China Railway Construction
in second place and China Railway Group in third.
The highest-placed non-Chinese company was
Vinci in fourth place.
There were a total of 11 Chinese contractors in
the Top 200. The largest national group in the Top
200 in terms of the number of companies was the
US, with 36 in the Top 200.
US companies also made the most improvements
in their standings compared to last year, with 17 of
the 36 companies listed improving their positions
last year and seven new entries. Many of these were
house building specialists benefiting from a market
recovery. However, the most notable was Chicago
Bridge & Iron’s 33-place gain to No 35, thanks to its
acquisition of Shaw Group.
There were also significant gains and new entries
from UK construction companies in this year’s Top
200. In contrast, there were falls for several Brazilian,
Indian, Japanese and Spanish companies.
The Top 200 league table was published in the
July-August edition of
International Construction
,
which can be downloaded from
.
A report containing five years of Top 200 reports,
covering the years 2010 to 2014, is also available
to buy in the KHL Information Store at
-
infostore.com.
The video can be viewed at www.
khl.com/videozone. It can also be
found on YouTube by searching for
KHL Group, or by scanning the QR
code on a smart phone.
KHL.COM
This month’s podcast for
Construction Europe
will be available online within a few days of the
magazine’s publication. To listen, go to:
Allu Finland’s new president
Ola Ulmala has joined
crushing and screening
firm Allu Finland as
president, having most
recently been vice
president of breaking
at Sandvik Mining &
Construction.
Kauko Pylväs, will
continue as president of
the entire Allu Group.
Ulmala has years of
international experience
through different kind of
duties in earth moving
and mining sectors.
At Sandvik, his duties
included Rammer and
Sandvik hammers,
demolition equipment,
breaker booms and
international OEM
business.
Allu Finland said
Ulmala’s strengths and
experience would be
used to support the
company’s growth plans.
At the start of the year,
Allu Group separated
the stabilisation business
into a separate company,
Allu Stamix. In addition
to the role of president
of Allu Group, Pylväs will
continues as president of
Allu Stamix.
ce
UImala – ex-Sandvik
