Global construction to grow +3% this year

Global Construction output will grow +3.0% this year according to IHS Global Insight, underlining the industry's recovery. The economic forecasting company says this compares to a decline of -0.1% last year.

In terms of individual sectors, non-residential construction will lead the way with a +4.3% increase in activity, and among the most attractive sub-sector will be construction linked to the communications industry.

The infrastructure sector is also expected to have a good year, with +3.7% growth forecast. Energy infrastructure is expected to see the strongest rise, at +4.8% growth.

In contrast, the global residential construction market looks sluggish, with IHS Global Insight expecting to see just a +1.2% rise in output this year. According to the company it will take until 2015 for this segment to regain the peak level of US$ 2.5 trillion seen in 2006. In contrast, the overall construction market is expected to be back at the pre-crash high of US$ 6.0 trillion next year.

Developing Asia and South America are expected to see the strongest growth next year, some way ahead of other developing markets such as the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. Western Europe is expected to see its construction market return to growth this year, although it will expand by only a fraction of a percent, while North America will see another decline, driven by continued declines in the residential market.

It is this continued weakness in the North American construction market that is putting the brakes on the global recovery of this sector.

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