Australian Industry Group Performance of Construction Index
For August, comes in at 55.3
- Compared to July which was a blockbuster 60.5 (a record high)
Key points from the August results 9bolding mine):
- Across the four sub-sectors, engineering construction and house building were the major drivers of growth in August. Reflecting the boost from greater government infrastructure spending on major works, engineering construction activity expanded strongly and at a rate that was broadly unchanged from the previous month. Continued strength was also evident in the house building sector, although its growth moderated from the 4½ year - high pace reached in July.
- There was stabilisation in commercial construction activity in August while apartment building returned to negative territory after a mild upturn in July, continuing the volatility of conditions in this sector over the past six months.
- For the construction industry as a whole, both activity and new orders continued to expand at relatively high rates in August despite easing in comparison with July. The sustained growth in aggregate industry demand led to the strongest expansion in deliveries from suppliers in almost three years.
- House building respondents commented on a continuation of relatively firm demand conditions with support from a solid pipeline of projects. New land releases were also having a positive influence on activity for some businesses. However, apartment builders pointed to slower activity in the month due to softer new orders, lower enquiries and some easing in investor activity.
- The rise in engineering construction was again linked to the roll-out of various big-ticket transport infrastructure projects, particularly on the eastern seaboard.
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Earlier this month we had the other two "Performance of" Indexes from AiG:
- Australia - AiG Manufacturing PMI (August): 59.8 (vs. prior 56.0)
- Australia - AiG Services PMI August: 53.0 (prior 56.4)
The 'construction PMI' today is the final of this monthly series
And we also got alternative PMIs, relatively new ones:
- Commonwealth Bank / Markit Manufacturing PMI for August: 53.5 (prior 54.4)
- CBA / Markit services PMI 54.2 (prior 57.0) & composite 54.1 (prior 56.7)
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Oh and if you have read down this far, and you're in Australia ... good news!
The Foo Fighters will be bringing their 'Concrete & Gold' world tour to Australia in January.