Construction: Capacity Utilisation Matches Pre-year Level

According to the results of the Ifo Business Survey, the business climate in the construction sector improved slightly in May. The assessments of the current business situation were somewhat more favourable than in the previous month. The business outlook for the next six months was seen optimistically by the survey participants remain confident. The equipment utilisation rate decreased slightly from 71.9 to 71.8%, which was below the previous year’s level of 73.3%. One-third of the survey participants reported production constraints: one fifth complained of a lack of orders and 8% of unfavourable weather conditions. On average for all construction sectors, the range of orders remained at 2.8 production months; this also corresponds to the survey value of a year ago. The survey responses indicate that construction prices were again raised less often. At the same time, the firms anticipate rising prices in the coming months. Staff levels are expected to rise less strongly over the next three to four months than had been expected by the survey participants in April.