CE Barometer March 2010: Boom times again?

Confidence in the European construction sector strengthened again in March, with month-on-month activity seeing a strong rise. After a slowdown in January, and only marginally positive results in February, a positive balance of +21,0% of respondents said activity picked up in March compared to the previous month.

This result was complemented by continued strong sentiment about the sector's future outlook. A balance of +46,5% of respondents said they thought activity would be higher in a year's time in the March survey. Although this was less than the +53% figure from February's results, it still represented a strong outlook

With both measures of confidence in positive territory, the arrow of our clock pointed to the 'boom' segment. The ups and downs in the two measures of confidence mean it's length - indicating the strength of sentiment - was more or less unchanged from February.

Once again, it is important to stress that the that the CE Barometer only shows the way the markets are moving, and what proportion of respondents are feeling that change. It does not and cannot give any indication of how volumes, or the value of work compare to previous highs or lows.

Take part

CE would like to thank all those that took part in the March survey. It was completed by more than 300 construction professionals in 30 countries around the region.

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 15th of each month on our website. Full information can be found at www.cebarometer.eu