construction europe barometer

Reading the clock

The direction or angle of the arrow gives an indication of the point in the cycle the European construction industry is currently at. Given that there was stronger sentiment looking ahead then there was for the current situation, this month's arrow is approaching the vertical

This indicates in a graphical way what the numbers say – that expectations are for activity to be higher in a year's time than now – a continued boom in other words. The length of the arrow is indicative of the strength of sentiment, and again this month it is a fairly long arrow, due to the July's largely up-beat results. However, the arrow is shorter than it was at the start of the year, reflecting the slight softening in sentiment.