Construction BUSINESS

The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 58.7 last month, as Irish construction continues to expand.

The monthly measure of activity in the sector rose from 58.4 in August. After the collapse in construction with the economic crash, the index has shown sustained growth over the past three years. New orders, for example, increased for the 39^th month in a row, and at its fastest pace since March.

Last month, growth was recorded across all the categories it monitors, including housing, commercial activity and civil engineering. While civil engineering posted only modest growth, commercial and housing construction continues to experience sharp growth, according to index compilers Ulster Bank.

Ulster Bank’s Chief Economist, Simon Barry, says: “The pick-up in the new orders index from already elevated levels is signalling acceleration in new business growth in the third quarter compared with the second.

“This is a pattern which leaves construction sector momentum looking stronger than both manufacturing and services as we enter the final quarter of the year, with recent PMIs from those sectors suggesting that Brexit impacts are weighing on activity trends in the more internationally-exposed areas of the economy.”