The construction industry is often seen as a barometre of the economy, as such the Construction Products Association revised growth forecasts for the construction industry will be warmly welcomed in the UK, as they predict that construction will expand by around 18% over the next three years, with suggestions that we’ll see construction hit pre-recession levels in the next 18 months.



Dr Noble Francis, Economics Director of the Association, said: “Last year’s recovery in construction was driven primarily by 18% growth in private house building.



“This year, industry growth will be more broad-based as a further increase of 10% in private house building is expected to be supported by 8% growth in commercial offices and 7.9% growth in new infrastructure.”



Growth rates are anticipated to decline slightly over 2016 and 2017 with the results of the next election creating a degree of uncertainty over the strength of the recovery and investment in industry in the coming years.



“While this is unlikely to impact construction activity this year, due to the lag between contracts and activity on the ground, it may have an adverse effect on output in both 2016 and 2017,” explained Dr Francis adding: “The industry also has concerns regarding capacity constraints in the medium-term.



“While output in the sector during 2014 was 8.5% below the level seen in 2007, overall capacity last year was not a key issue.



“However, construction output is forecast to surpass the pre-recession peak during the next 18 months, this despite the industry having lost 343,000 jobs and considerable materials capacity in the seven years following the financial crisis.”



He warned: “As a result, it is essential that there is significant investment in UK construction skills and manufacturing over the next few years if the growth forecast is to be achieved.”