Europe’s September construction output drops

The latest figures from Eurostat show that September was the ninth month in a row to record year-on-year decreases in Europe’s construction output.

Compared with September 2011, production in September 2012 dropped 2.6% in the Eurozone and 5.8% among member states (EU27).

The largest decreases were registered in Portugal (18.2%), Italy (17.8%), Poland (16.7%), Slovakia (14.9%) and the UK (13.1%). In contrast, construction output in Sweden was up 4.5% year-on-year in September, while Germany registered a 4% increase.

In terms of sectors, building construction output declined 3.2% in the Eurozone and fell 6.5% in the EU27, while civil engineering output decreased 2% in the Eurozone and fell 4.2% in the EU27.

The month-on-month figures – comparing output in September this year with output in August – also showed declines. Construction output fell 1.4% month-on-month in the Eurozone in September, and fell 1.8% in the EU27.

The largest month-on-month decreases were registered in Portugal (13.4%), Italy (8.0%), Romania (4%) and the UK (3%). The strongest monthly construction output increases were registered in Slovenia (17.1%), Germany (2.7%) and Sweden (1%).

Output from the building construction sector decreased 2.3% in the Eurozone and fell 2.5% in the EU27, while civil engineering output showed marginal monthly gains – the sector registered a 0.7% increase in output in the Eurozone, and a 0.1% increase in the EU27 in September.