The total value of construction contract awards in November 2020 was £4.9 billion based on a three-month rolling average, with a small 0.2% increase on October, but 9.1% lower than for last November.
Contract award numbers decreased by 17.9% this month to 715, compared with 871 in October. Annual comparisons show a 16.4% decrease compared to 855 contract awards for November 2019.
The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from Barbour ABI, highlights levels of construction contract values awarded across Great Britain.
In November, London was the leading region with 16.8% of awards and a total of 77 projects. The north west was only slightly behind, accounting for 16.3% of awards and a total of 98 projects. The third largest region this month was the south east, with 13.9% of awards.
The analysis indicates that residential maintained lead status in November, accounting for 38.9% of awards. With 19.1% of awards, infrastructure was the second largest sector this month, whilst in third place, commercial and retail held a share of 16.3%.
Tom Hall, chief economist at Barbour ABI and AMA Research, said: “The in-month value of contract awards in November was £3.9 billion. This is less than the historical average and is consistent with our previous assessments that, since the first UK-wide lockdown, the construction industry has returned but at lower levels than previously.
“The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has raised everyone’s hopes of a return to normality at some point in 2021. But in the meantime, we will have to manage many downside risks: a thin Brexit deal at the very best, higher unemployment and continuing movement restrictions over winter and spring.”
