French construction outlook deteriorates

Sentiment among French construction companies deteriorated again in February. The firms surveyed say they saw a negative performance in their past activity and cannot predict the future evolution of the market due to the current uncertainty, Kallanish learns from a l’Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (Insee) report.

Last month, as many contractors as in the previous month considered their order books to be higher than average and have orders for over eight months of work. Production capacity also decreased in February.

The same number of construction firms as in January reported slowing output because of supply difficulties. The issue however is easing. “Slightly less than half of the companies (49%) have reported to be 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 were to receive more orders” the report states.

Fewer companies than in January will increase their prices over the next three months.

The French rebar market is going through a weak patch, with prices and sales volumes reducing. Uncertainty is causing buyers to purchase small quantities and adopt a wait-and-see attitude (see Kallanish passim).

Natalia Capra France