October 2012
Featured in this insight: Business & enterprise, Construction, Financial services
Market research reveals another decline for SME in construction sector: According to the recent state of trade survey carried out by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), the workload for small to medium house builders has again dropped considerably due to the recession.
Of those involved in the survey, 39% reported a decrease in private new house building workloads in the third quarter of the year, whilst two-fifths (40%) predict a further decline in the last three months of this year.
A mere one in four firms reported a rise in workload in the quarter, whereas 40% admitted there had been no change from the previous quarter.
Nearly 70% of businesses expect the cost of raw materials to rise over the six months leading to March, while only one in five firms are planning to raise their prices. Almost eight out of 10 (79%) admitted there would be no change to wages and salaries.
In addition, only 9% of firms are planning to increase their level of staff in the next half year, a drop of 5% from three months ago.
Brian Berry, chief executive of FMB said: “There is little doubt that we are in the midst of a serious housing crisis with fewer than half the number of new homes being built to meet current demand. The FMB survey results show that the SME construction sector remains in deep trouble.”
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