Informations Rapides · 24 January 2023 · n° 17

In January 2023, the business climate in the building construction industry has deteriorated slightly Monthly survey of building - January 2023

According to the business managers surveyed in January 2023, the business climate in the building construction has degraded slightly. At 114, the synthetic indicator remains however at a high level, well above its long term average.

In January 2023, building contractors have been less optimistic than in the previous month regarding both their expected and past activity. The two corresponding balances of opinion have slightly dropped but remain above their long term average.

Less business managers than in the previous month have considered the evolution of their company situation to be unpredictable: the balance of opinion on the economic uncertainty felt has decreased sharply.

The balance of opinion on general business outlook remains stable compared to the previous quarter, above its long term average.

In January 2023, slightly less building contractors than in last month have considered the level of their order books to be higher than average. The corresponding balance has diminished slightly but remains at a level way above its long term average. Moreover, given their staff size, building contractors have considered that their order books provide them with 8.9 months of work, a slightly increasing duration when compared to the previous month.

In January 2023, the production capacity is almost stable: it stands at 92.9%, above its long term average (88.9%).

As many business managers as in the previous month have reported facing obstacles limiting their production (69%). Among them, the share of business managers who declared facing a workforce shortage (49%) has risen again whereas the proportion of those who declared supply difficulties (25%) has kept on dropping.

The share of companies at the limit of their production capacity (production bottlenecks), that is to say that they could not produce more with their current means if they received more orders, has dropped again. 29% of business managers considered themselves unable to increase their production in case of additional orders due to a lack of personnel, 12% due to supply difficulties.

The share of companies reporting recruiting difficulties is virtually stable, above its long term average.

In January 2023, more business managers than in the previous month have announced that they will increase their prices in the upcoming three months. The corresponding balance of opinion has increased slightly after two consecutive months of decrease. It stands way above its long term average.

The quarterly balance of opinion on cash flow position has dropped slightly and parted away from its average.

In January 2023, the balances of opinion of business managers regarding their expected and past employment have dropped. Both balances remain above their average.

The business climate in the building construction industry of December 2022 has been revised upwards by one point (after rounding) due to the late responses from companies.