The RICS have published their Global Construction Monitor for Q1 2021. According to the commentary, “The global construction market appears to be firmly on a recovery footing in the first quarter of 2021 as forecasts for the global recovery are revised upwards according to the latest RICS Global Construction Monitor. However, whilst sentiment has broadly improved, areas of weakness remain with uncertainties surrounding the path of recovery and evidence of supply chain bottlenecks coming to the surface”.

The Monitor is produced using data from the RICS’s Global Construction Activity Index which is a weighted composite measure of current and expected construction market conditions among construction professionals . The goes on to explain that the Index “….has risen to +14 in Q1 2021 up from +3 in Q4 2020. This is substantially higher than the low of -24 in Q2 of 2020, and indicative of the market now in expansionary territory following the stabilisation seen in Q4 2020. Unlike in previous quarters the data signals expansion in all regions, albeit stronger in Europe (+16), Asia Pacific (+15) and the Americas (+13) than in the Middle East and Africa (+3)”.

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Key findings

  • Global Construction Activity Index rose to +14, substantially higher than the low of -24 in Q2 2020
  • Accessing finance remains difficult and the main impediment to activity, due to uncertainty surrounding the path of recovery
  • Supply chain bottlenecks emerging, with border closures impacting on rising costs of materials and labour costs
  • Impact of COVID on onsite productivity not as bad as initially expected with 6.7% predicted decline compared to Q2 2020 prediction of 11.7% decline

The full details and analysis can be viewed on the RICS website here.

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