CE Barometer July 2015: Market rebound

Sentiment for the European construction industry rebounded a little in July following the dip of the previous month.

In headline terms, the picture remained positive, with the overall CE Climate for the industry coming in at a balance figure of +20.1%, a slight improvement on the +17.8% recorded in June. The balance figure is the percentage of positive responses minus the percentage of negative responses.

A key improvement was in sentiment on month-to-month activity. A balance of +9.7% of respondents said activity levels were higher in July than June, Compared to a figure of just +1.7% in the previous month’s survey. But again, this was still some way short of the confidence levels seen in the spring and earlier part of the summer.

There was also sense of improving sentiment compared to the situation a year ago. A balance of +14.0% of respondents said they were busier now than in July 2014. This compared to a balance of +7.8% in the June survey, and was on a par with results seen in May.

And as ever this year, confidence about the future remained very strong. A balance of +36.6% of respondents said they expected activity levels to be higher in a year’s time than now. Although this was down from the June figure of +44.0%, it was still a strong result. Indeed, CE barometer survey respondents have been bullish about the future since late last year. Results to this question have been consistently above +20% since October 2014.

Take part

The survey, which takes just a one minute to complete, is open to all construction professionals working in Europe. The CE Barometer survey is open from the 1^st to the 15^th of each month on our website. Full information can be found at www.cebarometer.eu