86th Euroconstruct Conference: European Construction Market Outlook until 2021 – Construction Output Growth Slows Down After Peak in 2017. Summary Report

The construction forecasts presented at the 86th Euroconstruct conference foresee continuing annual growth in construction output in the 19 Euroconstruct member countries until 2021. After a growth peak in 2017, the growth rate of total construction output in 2018 was revised upwards by 1 percentage point to +2.8 percent at constant prices compared to the previous year. Together with the overall economic outlook, construction investment growth is expected to slow down in upcoming years. In 2017 strong construction growth was driven by, especially new, building construction. The growth rate was largest for total residential construction (+5.6 percent), which is expected to decline to +2.8 percent in 2018 and stagnate further in the years towards 2021. Likewise, a slowdown is expected for total non-residential construction in 2018 (+1.5 percent) as well as in subsequent years. A slightly different pattern is foreseen for the civil engineering segment, which is expected to expand extraordinarily by 5.0 percent on average in the Euroconstruct countries in 2018. In the following years, growth rates are predicted to fall as well but continuously exceed those of building construction. The Euroconstruct Summary Report provides a macroeconomic analysis and an overview of the European construction industry by sectors (housing, non-residential construction and civil engineering, new and renovation, respectively) up to 2021. – With contributions by Anders Bjerre, Matijas Kocijan, Valérie Plagnol, Pascal Marlier, Renaud Muller, Valentin Nicaise, Markku Riihimäki, Mariusz Sochacki, Youssef Yacoubi.