21 December 2017
2017- n° 337In December 2017, the business climate improves sharply again in the building construction
industry Monthly survey of building - December 2017
According to the business managers in the building construction industry surveyed in December 2017, the business climate has improved sharply again. The composite indicator has risen by two points for the second consecutive month and has reached 109, its highest level since September 2008, well above its long-term average (100).
- Business managers opinion on their past activity has improved sharply since two months
- Many more business managers have reported an increase in their past and expected staff size
- Order books remain judged well filled
- Production capacity is more used
- Many more business managers plan to increase their prices
According to the business managers in the building construction industry surveyed in December 2017, the business climate has improved sharply again. The composite indicator has risen by two points for the second consecutive month and has reached 109, its highest level since September 2008, well above its long-term average (100).
graphiqueGraph1 – Business climate composite indicator
The turning point indicator remains in the favourable outlook zone.
graphiqueGraph2 – Turning-point indicator
- Note: close to 1 (respectively –1), it indicates a favourable climate (respectively unfavourable). The uncertainty area is between –0.3 and +0.3
Business managers opinion on their past activity has improved sharply since two months
In December 2017, many more business managers than in the previous month have indicated an increase in their activity over the last three months. The corresponding balance has improved significantly for the second consecutive month and stands far above its long-term average. However, the balance of opinion on expected activity has slightly fallen back, while remaining well above its long-term average.
graphiqueGraph3 – Activity tendency in building construction
tableauTable1 – Building industry economic outlook
| Mean* | Sept. 17 | Oct. 17 | Nov. 17 | Dec. 17 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite indicator | 100 | 104 | 105 | 107 | 109 |
| Past activity | –4 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| Expected activity | –6 | 9 | 8 | 18 | 16 |
| Gen. business outlook | –18 | 13 | |||
| Past employment | –6 | –7 | –5 | –5 | 3 |
| Expected employment | –5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| Opinion on order books | –24 | –22 | –13 | –14 | –13 |
| Order books (in month) | 5.5 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Production capacity utilisation rate | 88.4 | 88.1 | 88.7 | 89.4 | 89.6 |
| Obstacles to production increase (in %) | 32 | 27 | 32 | 35 | 35 |
| - Because of workforce shortage (in %) | 13.7 | 8.8 | 9.8 | 10.3 | 11.5 |
| Recruiting problems (in %) | 57 | 58 | |||
| Expected prices | –15 | –6 | –3 | –5 | 0 |
| Cash-flow position | –10 | –7 | |||
| Repayment period | 29 | 30 |
- * Mean since April 1975 for the composite indicator and since
- September 1993 for the balances of opinion.
- Source: INSEE, French business survey in the building industry
Many more business managers have reported an increase in their past and expected staff size
In December 2017, more business managers than in November have reported an increase in their staff size over the last three months. The corresponding balance now stands well above its long-term average. Likewise, the balance of opinion on expected staff size has recovered markedly and has exceeded its long-term average even more.
graphiqueGraph4 – Workforce size tendency in building construction
Order books remain judged well filled
In December 2017, roughly as many business managers as in the previous month consider that their order books are well filled for the period. The corresponding balance of opinion has increased slightly and stands at its highest level since September 2008, well above its long-term average. With their present staff size, business managers consider that their order books provide 7.4 months of work, the same level as last month and clearly above its long-term average (5.5 months).
graphiqueGraph5 – Order books
Production capacity is more used
After two months of consecutive rise, the production capacity utilisation rate has increased slightly in December 2017. At 89.6%, it stands above its long-term average (88.4%). At the same time, 35% of business managers have reported production bottlenecks, the same as last month and sharply more than on long-term average.
graphiqueGraph6 – Production capacity utilisation rate
Many more business managers plan to increase their prices
In December 2017, many more business managers than in November have indicated that they would increase their prices over the next three months. The corresponding balance has bounced back and has reached its highest level since October 2008, well above its long-term average.
Documentation
Abbreviated methodology (pdf,177 Ko)
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