French construction activity remains steady

Activity by companies in the French construction sector remained stable month-on-month in February, according to a l’Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (Insee) report monitored by Kallanish.

Last month companies said they were more optimistic about the prospects for future activity and the general state of the French construction industry. More construction sector managers than in the previous month indicated an increase in their activity over the last three months.

In February fewer companies than in January reported that they increased their staff size in the last three months. Employment prospects are deemed more favourable than in January however, the report says. 

As many companies as in the previous month considered their order-books to be well-filled. Companies also assess their order-books as providing almost eight months of work, higher than the long-term average of 5.7 months.

The production capacity utilisation rate rose last month. At the same time, 45% of companies reported production bottlenecks due to workforce shortages, a little higher than the previous month.

As many companies as in January announced that they will increase their prices over the next three months, the report reveals.