The UK construction industry is heading for a double dip recession, according to the Construction Products Association (CPA).
The CPA predicts that despite strong growth in the spring and early summer, output will fall through the rest of this year and into the first part of next.
CPA chief executive Michael Ankers said the strong first six months of 2010 were a result of “the short-term impact of the last government’s fiscal stimulus; a tentative growth in the housing market; and the start of a number of major projects in the run up to the general election”. These factors were not the basis for a long-term recovery, he added.
“Although 2010 as a whole is likely to be slightly better than 2009, it is very much a year of two halves, with construction output slipping back in the second half of the year as a result of growing uncertainty in the housing market and cuts in public spending.”
He also said that the recovery in private sector construction is “nowhere near what is needed to offset the anticipated 18% fall in public sector construction work over the next two years”.
