Data
News
Housing stats: New build sales, starts and completions in December
The end of the year saw registrations down 31% on 2010 across all sectors
October contracts drop by 5%
Balfour Beatty tops contractor league as index reveals decline in overall sector workload
Falling demand and rising costs hit manufacturers' confidence
Construction Trade Survey shows 44% of heavy side firms expect sales to fall next year
Construction shrinks by 0.6%
ONS figures show economy grew 0.5% in third quarter despite poor performance in construction
Recession looms despite upward revision of output
ONS revises construction output upwards from -0.6% to -0.2% for third quarter
Construction PMI hits five month high
Purchasing managers index rebounds from stagnation in September despite weak outlook
Housing stats: New build sales, starts and completions in September
Housing registrations in September fell 12% below August’s
Cost model
Cost model: Standardised schools
As the James Review made clear, the future of schoolbuilding lies with low-cost standard solutions, much as it did in the fifties. Darren Talbot and Stuart Francis of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company, offer an overview of this burgeoning market and consider the costs
Cost model: Small projects
With low availability of space and pressure to reduce costs, more small projects are being built - especially with high demand for affordable housing, care homes and office fit-out. Peter Fordham, Simon Hughes and Paul Donlen of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company, cost it up
Tracker
The tracker: Glum tidings
The decline in construction activity slowed in December, according to Experian Economics, but a low orders index and the weakest tender enquiries figures for nearly two years do not augur well
Lead times
Lead times: Oct-Dec 2011
There was very little change in the final quarter, suggesting that the rise in enquiries earlier in the year failed to translate into increased workload. Brian Moone of Mace reports
Spotlight: Major infrastructure
Vast civil engineering projects such as Crossrail are likely to keep concrete producers busy over the next couple of years, and lengthen lead times for diaphragm wall construction, says Brian Moone
Building intelligence
Building intelligence Q3 2011
Against all expectations, construction output seems to have grown in 2011. Which means that it’s this year that the public spending cuts are really going to start hurting … Experian Economics reports
Market forecast
Market forecast: That sinking feeling
Construction output looks set to fall by 5% in 2012 as new work dries up and the UK, like the rest of Europe, slips back into recession. Peter Fordham of Davis Langdon, an AECOM company, reports
Market forecast: Stuck in the mud
Prices have continued to stagnate in 2011, says Peter Fordham of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company. And with the eurozone crisis and global unease, construction isn’t going anywhere fast
Cost update
Green Deal: Does it add up for homes?
The Green Deal aims to reduce energy consumption at no upfront cost to homeowners, but which measures meet the ‘golden rule’? Phil Birch and Richard Quartermaine of Cyril Sweett report
Cost update Q3 2011
Never a dull moment: average earnings have improved but inflation is still at a 15-year high, and industrial relations remain tense. Peter Fordham of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company, reports
Whole life costs
Calculating housing lifecycle costs
Q: How do you work out the total cost of a house over a 100-year lifetime without spending hours poring over every single element? Stephen Kennett finds out the answer
Business barometer
Willmott Dixon tops September barometer after big Tesco win
A £85.6m contract with Tesco in Woolwich saw Willmott Dixon leapfrog rivals to top September’s contractor league table
League Tables
Top 30 M&E company rankings
Christmas won’t be very merry for the construction sector and the future looks even more testing.
Special reports
Sustainability costs
It is commonly assumed that going green will rack up the costs of a building project, but a unique study contradicts that view. In this cost model, Cyril Sweett details sustainable solutions for four building types indicating how improvements can be made at little or no extra cost
Lifetime costs
What it costs: Flooring
Level access showers can improve quality of life for disabled users. Peter Mayer of BLP Insurance looks at the design options and lifecycle costs for retrofitting them into existing floors
What it costs: Tiled cladding
Tiles, shingles and slate can provide traditional and thermally efficient covering for external walls. Peter Mayer of BLP Insurance considers the options
Sustainable reports
Sustainability: Building structures
In-use energy consumption is well regulated, so should we now consider embodied carbon? Isabel McAllister and Anthony Mitchell of Cyril Sweett, Steve Webb and Anna Beckett of Webb Yates report
Procurement costs
Procurement update
With pressure on the construction industry to drive down costs for clients, how can strategic procurement be used to deliver required savings? Simon Rawlinson of EC Harris looks at the options
Procurement refurbishment
When budgets are tight, refurb can seem the ideal solution. But how do clients and contractors allocate risk and manage outcomes? Simon Rawlinson of Davis Langdon looks at the options
