Construction output fell 1.8% in volume terms in October 2021, making it the largest monthly decline since April 2020 when output fell a massive 41.7% with the national lockdown causing construction sites to shut.
New work fell 2.8% from September to October 2021 while repair & maintenance remained unchanged, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) bulletin shows.
Anecdotal evidence continues to suggest that product shortages and subsequent rising prices were a key factor in the decline, the ONS said.
The main contributors to the decline in monthly output in October 2021 were infrastructure and private new housing, which decreased 7.1% and 4.4% respectively. Private industrial and public other new work were up 8.8% and 7.0% respectively.
The level of construction output in October 2021 was 2.8% (£400m) below the February 2020, pre-coronavirus level; new work was 6.2% (£592m) below the February 2020 level, while repair & maintenance work was 3.9% (£193m) above the February 2020 level.
The extent of recovery to date, since the falls at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, has varied between the sectors, with infrastructure up 37% and private commercial still 27% below the February 2020 benchmark.
Over the three months to October 2021, construction output fell by 1.2% – with
a 1.5% fall in repair & maintenance (3.5% fall in non-housing repair & maintenance) and a fall of 1.0% in new work.
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