Insee
Informations Rapides · 23 September 2021 · n° 240
Informations rapidesIn September 2021, activity prospects have improved again in the building industry Monthly survey of building - September 2021

In September 2021, the business managers in the building construction industry remain confident about their expected activity for the next three months: the corresponding balance of opinion has increased again. Moreover, production bottlenecks, particularly those related to supply difficulties, have been stabilising since July 2021, admittedly at a high level. Finally, the opinion on order books has remained virtually unchanged.

Informations rapides
No 240
Paru le :Paru le23/09/2021
Prochaine parution le : 20/09/2024 at 08:45 - September 2024

In September 2021, the business managers in the building construction industry remain confident about their expected activity for the next three months: the corresponding balance of opinion has increased again. Moreover, production bottlenecks, particularly those related to supply difficulties, have been stabilising since July 2021, admittedly at a high level. Finally, the opinion on order books has remained virtually unchanged.

Building industry economic outlook

Balances of opinion, in %, SA
Building industry economic outlook (Balances of opinion, in %, SA)
Mean* June 21 July 21 Aug. 21 Sep. 21
Past activity -3 16 15 13 12
Expected activity -4 9 9 11 16
General business outlook -16 10
Past employment -5 0 4 2 2
Expected employment -3 17 13 17 15
Opinion on order books -22 3 5 4 5
Order books (in month) 5,8 8,8 8,8 8,7 8,6
Production capacity utilisation rate (in %) 88,7 91,4 92,1 92,1 92,7
Production bottlenecks (in %) 33 45 50 49 49
- Because of workforce shortage (in %) 15 23 24 25 24
- Because of supply difficulties (in %) 2 13 14 13 14
Recruiting problems (in %) 59 72
Expected prices -12 18 26 27 26
Cash-flow position -10 -5
Repayment period 30 25
  • *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

Activity tendency in building construction

Activity tendency in building construction
Expected activity Past activity
1998-01 -5.3 -3.8
1998-02 -4.3 0.7
1998-03 -0.3 5.6
1998-04 -3.5 2.7
1998-05 1.3 7.8
1998-06 4.1 13.7
1998-07 4.6 16.8
1998-08 6.4 18.3
1998-09 8.0 19.7
1998-10 3.8 13.5
1998-11 -0.3 16.0
1998-12 -11.5 3.1
1999-01 -1.8 18.0
1999-02 4.9 12.0
1999-03 5.1 15.2
1999-04 9.3 19.6
1999-05 23.2 18.4
1999-06 14.9 18.0
1999-07 17.5 23.3
1999-08 17.9 24.2
1999-09 18.2 24.8
1999-10 13.4 29.1
1999-11 17.6 28.0
1999-12 31.3 32.4
2000-01 30.9 34.7
2000-02 24.8 33.5
2000-03 26.9 34.8
2000-04 30.3 44.2
2000-05 26.8 35.2
2000-06 31.6 34.9
2000-07 32.4 40.5
2000-08 32.7 40.3
2000-09 32.9 40.3
2000-10 33.3 40.1
2000-11 29.0 40.3
2000-12 23.4 33.3
2001-01 6.3 34.7
2001-02 10.8 34.6
2001-03 12.2 30.3
2001-04 8.1 17.0
2001-05 3.7 19.4
2001-06 0.5 14.2
2001-07 -2.0 12.0
2001-08 -3.4 6.9
2001-09 -5.0 2.4
2001-10 -6.2 1.9
2001-11 -5.0 -3.0
2001-12 -9.2 -1.6
2002-01 -5.4 -6.4
2002-02 -3.1 -3.2
2002-03 -3.6 -0.8
2002-04 -10.7 -7.5
2002-05 -2.0 -0.1
2002-06 -1.4 -0.3
2002-07 -6.2 -11.3
2002-08 -11.2 -11.1
2002-09 -16.2 -9.7
2002-10 -19.6 -11.4
2002-11 -20.1 -15.4
2002-12 -19.0 -19.5
2003-01 -24.2 -13.3
2003-02 -20.1 -15.3
2003-03 -23.7 -18.5
2003-04 -21.5 -15.5
2003-05 -17.2 -16.9
2003-06 -17.7 -15.7
2003-07 -14.2 -16.1
2003-08 -9.7 -10.4
2003-09 -5.3 -3.5
2003-10 -5.5 -13.3
2003-11 -0.4 -9.6
2003-12 1.4 -5.3
2004-01 15.1 -1.4
2004-02 6.0 1.3
2004-03 8.6 3.1
2004-04 6.0 6.2
2004-05 3.1 6.3
2004-06 1.8 5.8
2004-07 10.9 6.8
2004-08 11.9 6.3
2004-09 12.7 7.0
2004-10 11.9 8.7
2004-11 11.7 13.4
2004-12 11.6 12.1
2005-01 11.2 11.1
2005-02 8.9 11.6
2005-03 13.0 8.4
2005-04 13.3 9.8
2005-05 12.7 9.2
2005-06 16.4 12.6
2005-07 15.0 15.4
2005-08 14.1 14.6
2005-09 13.5 15.4
2005-10 18.5 18.1
2005-11 23.0 19.2
2005-12 19.7 20.2
2006-01 19.8 20.4
2006-02 19.9 13.5
2006-03 16.1 17.6
2006-04 15.6 20.2
2006-05 17.1 21.0
2006-06 14.3 21.4
2006-07 17.3 21.2
2006-08 17.5 20.6
2006-09 19.1 22.7
2006-10 21.3 22.9
2006-11 23.4 20.5
2006-12 20.3 22.0
2007-01 21.0 20.1
2007-02 18.5 19.9
2007-03 17.7 22.6
2007-04 20.1 24.1
2007-05 20.3 22.3
2007-06 21.1 24.9
2007-07 19.7 25.0
2007-08 18.4 20.7
2007-09 19.6 20.6
2007-10 16.2 19.5
2007-11 13.6 21.4
2007-12 16.6 19.2
2008-01 7.3 18.7
2008-02 14.9 18.1
2008-03 17.4 15.7
2008-04 9.2 16.2
2008-05 9.8 9.6
2008-06 -4.1 4.9
2008-07 -5.2 -0.3
2008-08 -4.5 0.3
2008-09 -9.3 -0.9
2008-10 -33.0 -10.7
2008-11 -36.1 -11.4
2008-12 -30.7 -21.0
2009-01 -35.2 -19.5
2009-02 -47.1 -25.8
2009-03 -36.9 -24.3
2009-04 -36.7 -30.1
2009-05 -34.2 -29.2
2009-06 -33.5 -33.1
2009-07 -31.4 -33.3
2009-08 -26.5 -31.2
2009-09 -24.5 -28.3
2009-10 -21.1 -24.9
2009-11 -20.4 -26.2
2009-12 -20.1 -26.5
2010-01 -20.1 -26.6
2010-02 -18.6 -23.7
2010-03 -18.2 -26.2
2010-04 -18.1 -25.4
2010-05 -17.6 -20.7
2010-06 -15.1 -17.5
2010-07 -11.4 -14.0
2010-08 -10.3 -12.7
2010-09 -12.7 -13.2
2010-10 -4.2 -13.1
2010-11 -0.5 -12.8
2010-12 -0.9 -7.8
2011-01 -1.0 -8.5
2011-02 3.0 -3.8
2011-03 2.8 1.7
2011-04 5.0 8.4
2011-05 2.0 6.1
2011-06 4.4 6.3
2011-07 5.0 8.2
2011-08 0.8 1.5
2011-09 -4.3 -0.7
2011-10 -4.7 -2.2
2011-11 -9.8 -4.3
2011-12 -11.6 -4.3
2012-01 -10.6 -1.6
2012-02 -12.5 -3.8
2012-03 -10.7 -5.6
2012-04 -12.0 -8.6
2012-05 -14.8 -13.4
2012-06 -14.0 -13.5
2012-07 -16.8 -15.0
2012-08 -19.2 -15.2
2012-09 -20.3 -15.0
2012-10 -25.9 -18.3
2012-11 -24.4 -21.2
2012-12 -21.9 -20.5
2013-01 -24.3 -21.6
2013-02 -22.1 -23.3
2013-03 -24.4 -23.9
2013-04 -24.6 -28.1
2013-05 -21.4 -26.7
2013-06 -24.0 -26.5
2013-07 -22.4 -22.2
2013-08 -19.7 -16.7
2013-09 -12.4 -13.2
2013-10 -15.5 -13.3
2013-11 -16.4 -13.0
2013-12 -18.6 -20.2
2014-01 -15.6 -20.7
2014-02 -20.7 -17.4
2014-03 -18.7 -17.2
2014-04 -22.4 -17.5
2014-05 -19.6 -19.0
2014-06 -17.6 -18.2
2014-07 -28.1 -18.2
2014-08 -27.4 -25.0
2014-09 -29.9 -29.7
2014-10 -29.9 -31.8
2014-11 -24.7 -25.3
2014-12 -27.9 -23.1
2015-01 -32.7 -23.0
2015-02 -23.7 -30.3
2015-03 -24.4 -27.6
2015-04 -24.0 -20.8
2015-05 -26.4 -21.7
2015-06 -20.4 -19.9
2015-07 -16.4 -22.1
2015-08 -8.8 -18.1
2015-09 -13.3 -16.9
2015-10 -15.1 -14.5
2015-11 -20.7 -15.3
2015-12 -8.0 -11.7
2016-01 -8.2 -14.6
2016-02 -16.1 -15.2
2016-03 -9.3 -14.1
2016-04 -5.1 -13.6
2016-05 -2.1 -8.1
2016-06 -2.7 -8.6
2016-07 -0.2 -9.8
2016-08 -3.3 -6.7
2016-09 0.5 -6.1
2016-10 3.7 -0.4
2016-11 1.6 0.6
2016-12 -0.8 -5.5
2017-01 -2.5 5.8
2017-02 -0.5 -1.5
2017-03 2.6 -1.9
2017-04 5.7 -6.9
2017-05 1.8 4.5
2017-06 3.1 11.2
2017-07 11.3 4.8
2017-08 13.3 2.3
2017-09 9.1 8.9
2017-10 8.4 5.2
2017-11 14.6 9.6
2017-12 14.8 13.6
2018-01 13.8 14.8
2018-02 10.9 13.7
2018-03 11.5 12.9
2018-04 13.1 10.3
2018-05 12.5 6.3
2018-06 11.8 5.1
2018-07 6.8 7.7
2018-08 4.1 9.3
2018-09 9.6 2.8
2018-10 10.3 3.7
2018-11 11.4 3.7
2018-12 12.6 7.3
2019-01 15.8 7.5
2019-02 15.0 10.0
2019-03 14.0 11.4
2019-04 11.9 11.1
2019-05 12.2 6.5
2019-06 13.7 9.6
2019-07 10.2 12.6
2019-08 10.4 10.1
2019-09 12.6 12.8
2019-10 16.7 12.8
2019-11 10.3 11.7
2019-12 11.3 9.6
2020-01 11.0 9.2
2020-02 14.9 11.7
2020-03 6.7 17.8
2020-04 -85.2 -21.8
2020-05 -48.0 -78.1
2020-06 2.1 -78.8
2020-07 17.4 -60.0
2020-08 12.1 -20.9
2020-09 4.4 -4.1
2020-10 2.9 8.1
2020-11 -14.5 0.2
2020-12 -4.0 -1.5
2021-01 1.8 -2.1
2021-02 -0.9 -3.1
2021-03 7.5 2.7
2021-04 5.9 7.7
2021-05 12.8 5.4
2021-06 9.3 16.0
2021-07 8.7 14.6
2021-08 11.1 12.9
2021-09 16.1 11.6

Activity tendency in building construction

  • Source: INSEE

The construction business managers are more optimistic about their upcoming activity

In September 2021, the business managers are more optimistic than last month on their upcoming activity for the next three months: the corresponding balance has increased again, significantly above its long-term average. At the same time, the balance of opinion of business managers on their activity over the last three months has decreased very slightly: it has been eroding a bit since July 2021 while staying well above its average.

The opinion on order books remains very favourable

In September 2021, somewhat more business managers than last month consider that the level of their order books is higher than usual: the corresponding balance of opinion stands well above its long-term average. Besides, given their present staff size, the construction business managers assess that their order books provide them with 8.6 months of work, an amount of time barely shorter than in the previous month and that remains significantly above its long-term average (5.8 months).

The production bottlenecks have been stabilising at a high level since July 2021

In September 2021, the production capacity utilisation rate has increased, as it had since the beginning of the year. At 92.7%, it stands above its long-term average (88.7%).

At the same time, the production bottlenecks remain very significant but tend to stabilise: since July, half of business managers have been reporting some, against a third in long-term average. A quarter of business managers consider that they are prevented from increasing their production because of a lack of staff, a share virtually stable and larger than usual. Likewise, the share of business managers reporting production bottlenecks due to supply difficulties has hardly changed since July: it remains much higher than in average.

The balance of opinion on expected prices has been near stable at a high level

In September 2021, almost as many business managers as in the previous month have reported that they would increase their prices over the next three months. The corresponding balance has been virtually stable, as in August, after having quickly increased in the first half-year. It stands at a level far above its long-term average.

Workforce size tendency in building construction

Workforce size tendency in building construction
Expected workforce size Past workforce size
2005-01 9.2 0.7
2005-02 9.5 0.1
2005-03 12.5 5.5
2005-04 15.2 6.9
2005-05 14.2 6.7
2005-06 14.0 8.2
2005-07 16.9 3.9
2005-08 15.2 6.0
2005-09 13.7 7.9
2005-10 15.9 9.7
2005-11 19.5 11.5
2005-12 17.0 12.7
2006-01 18.4 18.9
2006-02 20.2 19.9
2006-03 19.3 13.3
2006-04 18.2 16.0
2006-05 20.5 18.2
2006-06 21.8 17.9
2006-07 20.3 20.4
2006-08 22.2 21.1
2006-09 24.4 21.7
2006-10 26.1 21.6
2006-11 23.8 19.8
2006-12 26.3 18.5
2007-01 27.0 19.2
2007-02 25.3 21.4
2007-03 24.6 20.5
2007-04 22.9 20.6
2007-05 25.5 20.2
2007-06 28.6 23.4
2007-07 25.4 21.6
2007-08 24.6 21.8
2007-09 24.2 22.1
2007-10 23.1 16.6
2007-11 26.7 21.7
2007-12 21.5 21.0
2008-01 19.9 22.6
2008-02 15.9 21.4
2008-03 22.3 23.0
2008-04 23.1 21.1
2008-05 15.5 12.9
2008-06 13.8 13.6
2008-07 11.9 13.4
2008-08 9.5 9.3
2008-09 4.8 5.9
2008-10 -1.4 5.9
2008-11 -8.7 -0.9
2008-12 -12.5 -2.3
2009-01 -16.9 -8.7
2009-02 -17.9 -8.2
2009-03 -22.4 -12.8
2009-04 -20.9 -18.5
2009-05 -20.2 -17.9
2009-06 -20.1 -17.9
2009-07 -20.3 -20.7
2009-08 -19.0 -19.2
2009-09 -17.0 -19.1
2009-10 -15.9 -19.2
2009-11 -15.3 -18.8
2009-12 -14.5 -18.8
2010-01 -12.8 -18.3
2010-02 -15.8 -17.2
2010-03 -13.1 -16.8
2010-04 -14.0 -16.6
2010-05 -14.6 -14.0
2010-06 -15.4 -15.8
2010-07 -13.4 -10.8
2010-08 -11.3 -12.0
2010-09 -7.7 -11.0
2010-10 -7.7 -11.9
2010-11 -3.8 -7.6
2010-12 -1.7 -4.4
2011-01 -1.3 -4.2
2011-02 3.1 -5.1
2011-03 3.6 -3.1
2011-04 4.9 0.2
2011-05 7.3 -0.3
2011-06 6.8 3.3
2011-07 7.7 3.3
2011-08 3.4 3.8
2011-09 -0.8 2.6
2011-10 -6.2 -2.2
2011-11 -7.4 -8.7
2011-12 -5.3 -6.4
2012-01 -3.7 -4.2
2012-02 -3.9 -5.5
2012-03 -9.0 -6.9
2012-04 -9.2 -8.7
2012-05 -12.6 -8.9
2012-06 -11.3 -7.6
2012-07 -15.3 -11.9
2012-08 -14.7 -11.2
2012-09 -16.7 -15.8
2012-10 -14.6 -10.0
2012-11 -14.9 -10.7
2012-12 -16.2 -13.3
2013-01 -15.6 -14.4
2013-02 -15.8 -17.1
2013-03 -18.0 -17.9
2013-04 -13.5 -14.1
2013-05 -19.0 -16.1
2013-06 -18.2 -18.4
2013-07 -17.9 -18.2
2013-08 -16.0 -19.8
2013-09 -14.8 -18.5
2013-10 -10.4 -13.4
2013-11 -16.7 -18.1
2013-12 -17.7 -16.7
2014-01 -19.5 -19.0
2014-02 -21.1 -19.7
2014-03 -18.5 -18.6
2014-04 -19.3 -22.7
2014-05 -19.2 -15.4
2014-06 -23.4 -26.4
2014-07 -22.1 -25.5
2014-08 -26.9 -26.6
2014-09 -28.1 -28.7
2014-10 -26.0 -28.6
2014-11 -22.5 -24.8
2014-12 -24.3 -25.7
2015-01 -29.4 -29.3
2015-02 -24.5 -24.9
2015-03 -25.3 -26.6
2015-04 -27.3 -34.5
2015-05 -27.2 -29.9
2015-06 -19.9 -26.4
2015-07 -24.6 -28.7
2015-08 -23.2 -25.1
2015-09 -22.1 -24.9
2015-10 -23.2 -26.6
2015-11 -21.3 -28.3
2015-12 -23.3 -27.4
2016-01 -20.3 -24.7
2016-02 -20.8 -25.8
2016-03 -20.4 -27.1
2016-04 -17.9 -23.5
2016-05 -15.9 -24.0
2016-06 -16.4 -23.8
2016-07 -17.2 -21.0
2016-08 -13.2 -20.9
2016-09 -10.4 -18.5
2016-10 -8.3 -17.4
2016-11 -11.2 -14.7
2016-12 -8.3 -15.2
2017-01 -7.2 -14.2
2017-02 -8.3 -13.2
2017-03 -6.6 -11.1
2017-04 -5.2 -15.5
2017-05 -1.3 -7.9
2017-06 2.5 -6.6
2017-07 4.3 -2.5
2017-08 2.0 -7.6
2017-09 1.9 -6.9
2017-10 4.4 -5.2
2017-11 1.6 -5.5
2017-12 12.1 7.3
2018-01 9.1 -1.4
2018-02 5.2 -4.6
2018-03 12.9 0.8
2018-04 11.2 3.7
2018-05 9.5 7.0
2018-06 10.4 3.9
2018-07 14.7 4.3
2018-08 14.8 3.6
2018-09 14.8 4.5
2018-10 10.1 4.9
2018-11 13.7 9.6
2018-12 14.3 5.8
2019-01 6.6 1.8
2019-02 16.2 5.7
2019-03 12.1 5.6
2019-04 12.8 3.8
2019-05 13.0 6.5
2019-06 9.8 4.5
2019-07 6.9 4.1
2019-08 10.3 5.9
2019-09 13.1 4.5
2019-10 12.2 5.9
2019-11 15.7 5.5
2019-12 13.7 5.8
2020-01 15.4 6.8
2020-02 17.6 7.8
2020-03 11.5 6.4
2020-04 -18.5 0.3
2020-05 -18.0 -17.0
2020-06 -3.5 -23.2
2020-07 1.7 -17.6
2020-08 1.0 -13.5
2020-09 2.5 -8.2
2020-10 3.5 -7.5
2020-11 4.2 -3.4
2020-12 8.8 -1.3
2021-01 6.9 -3.6
2021-02 7.2 -7.1
2021-03 12.3 -1.5
2021-04 14.0 2.3
2021-05 16.4 -1.6
2021-06 16.8 0.4
2021-07 12.9 3.7
2021-08 16.9 1.8
2021-09 14.5 2.1

Workforce size tendency in building construction

  • Source : INSEE

The balance of opinion on the expected change in workforce size has fallen back slightly

In September 2021, the balance of opinion of business managers about the upcoming change in their workforce size for the next three months has fallen back slightly but stays well above its long-term average. The balance of opinion on the change in workforce size over the past three months is stable; it remains markedly above its long-term average.

For further information

A balance of opinion is calculated as the difference between the percentage of “increase” responses and the percentage of “decrease” responses.

The responses to this survey have collected between 29 August 2021 and 20 September 2021.

Additional information (simplified and detailed methodology, nomenclature, etc.) is available on the “Documentation” tab of the web page of this publication.

Next issue: 21 October 2021 at 8:45 am

Pour en savoir plus

A balance of opinion is calculated as the difference between the percentage of “increase” responses and the percentage of “decrease” responses.

The responses to this survey have collected between 29 August 2021 and 20 September 2021.

Additional information (simplified and detailed methodology, nomenclature, etc.) is available on the “Documentation” tab of the web page of this publication.

Next issue: 21 October 2021 at 8:45 am

: bureau-de-presse@insee.fr
: