Delayed Recovery of the European Construction Industry. Growth Prospects for 2004-05 Damped down

The recovery of the European construction industry is being delayed considerably. Construction activity is stagnating in Western Europe, with a growth rate of no more than 0.4 percent forecast for 2003. According to the most recent results of the Euroconstruct Conference, the construction sector in Western Europe will only pick up slightly in 2004 and 2005 (1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively). The Austrian construction industry, which went through a phase of stagnation in 2002, will grow at a rate of 1.2 percent already in 2003; growth rates in 2004 and 2005 will be 1.5 percent and 2 percent, respectively, i.e. only slightly above the western European average. In eastern Europe, the construction industry is expected to recover from its 2001 and 2002 recession in the course of this year and will presumably achieve substantial growth rates in 2004 and 2005.