Talking for the wider built environment industry, we are in an OK place, aren't we?
Housebuilding does account for much of the good news coming out of latest statistics published by Markit/CIPS index granted.
This said, speaking with leaders, especially within the building products market, people seem to be taking the resilient mindset of "business as usual" and not reflecting too seriously on what the next two to three years may bring for us. Awareness, of course, is crucial - after all, this, in part, is a must-have ingredient of any leader - but people are not getting wrapped up in the "what if's" and are instead driving businesses forward for the coming quarter/year.
Although the below report highlights house building as being the catalyst for these figures, I was actually slightly buoyed by the report stating civils had stood still. It has not shrunk and, importantly, the government is granting an injection of cash for much needed civil projects which have recently been held back.
Latest returns for the Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index show the highest number of new jobs created since last June. The bellwether Index dipped slightly from 53.1 in November to 52.2 in December to remain above the 50 no-change value for the third month running.