Builders waiting for the ‘Boris bounce’, says FMB
Workloads for small building contractors fell in the final quarter of 2019 but builders are more optimistic for 2020 according to a recent survey from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
The FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q4 found that in the three months to December 2019 builders workloads fell into negative territory with around 21% of firms reporting lower workloads, 5% higher than the previous quarter and that expectations for the future rose with 37% of builders predicting higher workloads over the coming three months.
Material and wage costs are likely to rise over the coming six months and mployment activity moved back into positive territory for the first time since Q1 2019 with just under one in five (19%) builders reporting an increase in staffing levels
Chief Executive of the FMB, Brian Berry, said: “The end of 2019 was a very turbulent period in the UK, both politically and economically, with Brexit gridlock and a General Election. When you consider this, along with the bad weather we saw in October, it is not surprising that the order books of small and medium-sized construction firms took a hit.
“Builders are more optimistic for the for the future, however, with over a third of SMEs predicting higher workloads over the coming three months. We are yet to see if there has been a so called ‘Boris bounce’ yet, following the election result, but there are some positive signs.”
