Construction firms in the euro area have posted a huge increase in activity at the start of 2022, driven by a rapid surge in house building and a bounce back in civil engineering projects.
- The IHS Markit eurozone construction total activity index surged to a four-year high of 56.6 in January, increasing from 52.9 in the prior month. A PMI score above 50 signals that a larger percentage of businesses a reporting higher activity levels than the prior month.
- Usamah Bhatti, an economist at IHS Markit, stated that a record surge in new orders, driven by sustained government support, helped to boost activity growth to the highest level since January 2018.
- Bhatti further stated that there were indications that widespread reports of material shortages and delivery delays had reached a peak and had started to ease.
Construction firms in Italy posted their biggest increase in activity on record as German builders stated that business grew at the fastest pace for nearly two years and French firms posted a moderate increase.
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Source: IHS Markit
