UK Construction top in Europe

A new report from the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the UK Construction Equipment Association (CEA) has revealed that the UK construction sector is currently ranked number one in Europe with a 24% market share.

The figures refer to 2018 when the UK was the largest producer of construction equipment in Europe and 5^th largest in the world, producing over 60,000 units.

Revenues of around £13 billion (€15.13 billion) were generated from sales of these machines.

The report said that the confidence in the sector was partly as a result of large infrastructure projects such as High Speed 2, Hinkley Point C and Highways England’s current £15 billion (€17.46 billion) five-year roads programme.

The UK Government has also committed to further significant infrastructure investment, with plans to expand the current housebuilding programme to 300,000 new homes a year, a 30% increase on its previous strategy.

Investment in research and development was also said to have increased by a further 10% in 2018 to £220 million (€256 million) as a greater number of manufacturers develop invest in electric powered machinery.

The full report will be launched at the CEA’s UK Plantworx event in June later this year.

Rob Oliver, chief executive of the CEA, said, “The Sector Report comes five years since the last one in 2014. At that time our industry and the world economy were still recovering from the financial crisis triggered in 2008.

“We can proudly report that the latest figures show record revenue for the sector and that the UK remains a good place to both manufacture and supply construction equipment.”