Latest data released by Markit - 4 March 2021

UK construction activity rebounded last month amid a boost from commercial work, with new orders also gaining momentum amid optimism that economic conditions will improve over the course of the year in the UK.

Residential work remains the strongest contributor once again to overall construction activity and that is helped by the sharpest rise in commercial work since last September.

Markit notes that:

"Construction work regained its position as the fastestgrowing major category of UK private sector output in February. The rebound was supported by the largest rise in commercial development activity since last September as the successful vaccine rollout spurred contract awards on projects that had been delayed at an earlier stage of the pandemic.

"House building is still the engine of recovery for the construction sector, although there was a loss of momentum since January as adverse weather and longer wait times for materials contributed to some temporary delays on site.

"Civil engineering activity has been somewhat subdued in recent months, but survey respondents continued to cite the positive outlook for infrastructure work on major transport projects as a factor helping to boost confidence in the construction sector.

"Stretched supply chains and sharply rising transport costs were the main areas of concern for construction companies in February. Reports of delivery delays remain more widespread than at any time in the 20 years prior to the pandemic, reflecting a mixture of strong global demand for raw materials and shortages of international shipping availability. Subsequently, an imbalance of demand and supply contributed to the fastest increase in purchasing costs across the construction sector since August 2008."