CE Barometer February 2013: Future outlook improves

February saw the future outlook for the European construction industry improve again, according to the results of the CE Barometer survey. As was the case in January, there was strong sentiment that the market would improve over the coming year.

With a positive balance of +29.5%, up from +25.8% in January, respondents were as up-beat as they have been for two years about prospects for the industry in 12 months’ time. The balance figure is the percentage of positive responses, minus the number of negative ones.

However, as was also the case in January, month-on-month activity levels remained in negative territory at -8.9%. Although this was an improvement from January’s figure of -15.1%, the fact remains that CE Barometer results indicate that month-on-month activity has been falling since July last year.

Further confirmation of the weak state of the industry was shown by the response to the question about activity levels compared to a year ago. A balance of -17.0% of respondents said levels were lower than at the same point in 2012, and results for this measure of confidence have been in negative territory since February last year.

Despite the negativity, the CE Climate – an overall measure of confidence based on all question results – edged into positive territory at a balance figure of +1.2%. It was the first time there has been a positive result here since June last year, and it was driven by the improving future outlook.

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 1st to the 15^th of each month on our website. Full information can be found at www.cebarometer.eu