CE Barometer: Industry improves in March

Sentiment on the European construction industry continued to improve in March, in line with the normal seasonal pattern. Month-on-month activity improved and there was also greater optimism about the future.

A balance figure of 23.0% of survey respondents said activity levels in March were higher than in February, an improvement from the level of 11.6% seen in February and the negative figures of January and December. The balance figure is the percentage of positive responses minus the percentage of negative responses.

March was also the fourth month in a row when sentiment about the future improved. A balance of +39.3% of respondents said they expected activity levels to be higher in a year’s time compared to this month – a better score than the figure of +35.4% seen in February.

And as in January, a positive balance of respondents said they were busier now than a year ago. The figure in March was +23.8% up from the +14.3%, seen in February and a similar figure in January.

This run of positive results lifted the CE Climate figure – a composite number based on responses to all questions – from just +2.6% in December to +12.2% in January and on to +20.4% in February and +28.4% this month. This is the highest the CE Climate figure has been for almost a year.

Take part

The survey, which takes just a one minute to complete, is open to all construction professionals working in Europe. The CE Barometer survey is open from the 1^st to the 15^th of each month on our website. Full information can be found at www.cebarometer.eu