Construction (west):
Reduced scepticism

The current business situation in western German construction remained at a very unsatisfactory level. Equipment utilisation at 58% was lower than in the previous month; the comparable previous year value was missed by one percentage point. The range of the order backlogs expanded, but at 2.2 months it was smaller than in the previous year. Whereas dissatisfaction with order stocks weakened in structural engineering, it increased again in civil engineering. The overall outlook brightened again in both structural and civil engineering.