Informations Rapides · 22 July 2021 · n° 186

In July 2021, the opinion of business managers in the building industry on their upcoming activity for the next three months is virtually unchanged Monthly survey of building - July 2021

In July 2021, the balance of opinion of business managers in the building construction industry on their upcoming activity for the next three months is virtually stable, as well as that for past activity. This two balances stand well above their long-term average.

In July 2021, the business managers remain optimistic on their upcoming activity for the next three months: the corresponding balance, virtually stable, remains significantly above its long-term average.

Likewise, the balance of opinion of business managers on their activity over the last three months, almost unchanged, remains above its average. Their opinion on the general outlook for the sector, measured quarterly,has clearly improvedsharply: in July 2021, this balance of opinion has risen sharply, well above its average.

In July 2021, the balance of opinion on the change in the workforce size over the past three months has increased slightly again and therefore stays above its long-term average.

Conversely, the balance of opinion about the employment prospects for the next three months has deteriorated but remains well above its long-term average. A little more business managers than in April have experienced recruitment difficulties.

In July 2021, the business managers are more numerous than last month to consider that the level of their order books is higher than normal: the corresponding balance of opinion has kept increasing for the seventh consecutive month. Otherwise, given their present staff size, the business managers consider that their order books provide 8.5 months of work, a time span that remains significantly above its long-term average (5.8 months).

In July 2021, the production capacity utilisation rate has risen again. At 91.9%, it stands above its long-term average (88.7%). At the same time, the production bottlenecks have increased: almost half of business managers have reported some this month, a proportion well above the long-term average (33%). The share of business managers who consider that they are unable to increase their production due to a lack of staff is stable, at a high level. Likewise, the share of business managers reporting production bottlenecks due to supply difficulties remains much higher than in average.

In July 2021, slightly fewer business managers than in April have reported an improvement in their cash-flow position. The corresponding balance has decreased slightly but remains above its long-term average. At the same time, the balance of opinion on payment periods from their clients is virtually stable, below its long term average.

Otherwise, the business managers are significantly more numerous than last month to announce that they will increase their prices over the next three months. The balance of opinion on the expected change in prices for the next three months has increased sharply for the fifth consecutive month and has reached a level unseen since January 2008.