The findings come in the latest Scottish Construction Monitor, a quarterly Scottish Building Federation (SBF) survey that asks members how confident they feel about the prospects for their business over the next 12 months compared to the previous year.
Following a nine-point drop in the final quarter of 2013, the latest survey shows industry confidence has rebounded to +20, which is the highest rating since the survey began in 2008. This marks a third consecutive quarter when the overall rating has been positive.
The percentage of respondents who are more confident about their prospects for the next 12 months compared to the past year has increased from 41.1% last quarter to 51.6% this quarter while the percentage of respondents less confident about their firm’s future prospects has fallen from 25% in Q4 2013 to 17.7%.
SBF managing director Vaughan Hart said: “This is now the third consecutive quarter that the industry’s confidence has been in positive territory and a new record high since we began the Scottish Construction Monitor in 2008. This is the first time that the percentage of companies more confident about the future outlook for their business compared to the last year has risen above the 50% mark.
“At the same time, it is important to keep these results in perspective. Recovery across the different sectors of the industry remains mixed. While there has been strong growth in infrastructure and private commercial activity, housebuilding remains flat. The challenge now must be to ensure the recovery is sustainable in the longer term. Industry confidence needs to reach a point where companies have the confidence to invest long-term in rebuilding skills and capacity. I am not convinced we have reached that point yet.”
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