Ongoing improvements in the house building sector helped to boost Australia’s construction sector into growth territory for the first time this year according to the latest Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®). The seasonally adjusted index increased by 5.1 points to 51.8 in June 2014 (readings above 50 indicate an expansion in activity).
In addition to house building growth (up 2.2 points to 56.6), engineering construction rose by 16.3 points to 51.1 with a pipeline of infrastructure work on the east coast getting underway. Increases in overall new orders, activity and deliveries also contributed to the monthly reading. However, this growth was partly offset by falls in apartment building (49.2) and commercial construction (49.8).
Peter Burn, Australian Industry Group Director - Public Policy, said: "The Australian construction sector closed off the financial year on a positive note by lifting back into growth following five slow months. The housing sub-sector went from strength to strength, marking a tenth straight month of expansion with an accelerated pace of increase in June. The stars aligned for engineering construction with an unexpected lift in activity on the back of local government and infrastructure projects. However, new orders in the engineering construction sub-sector continued to fall and, with the mining construction boom now winding down, the outlook for this sub-sector is for ongoing weakness. In contrast, and suggesting further rebalancing within the construction sector, new orders grew at a faster pace for both housing and apartment building."
Housing Industry Association Economist, Diwa Hopkins, also commented on the results: "After a slow start to the year, the Australian PCI® has experienced a run of improvements in 2014 and finally broke through that critical 50-point threshold in June. Underscoring this improvement has been residential construction activity, with house building in particular remaining a continuing source of strength – June represented the tenth consecutive month of growth in activity for this sub-sector of construction. While the pipeline of infrastructure work on the east coast is boosting conditions in engineering construction, commercial construction still remains a weak area within the broader industry – its sub-index is yet to indicate that a sustained expansion is underway. Coming updates to the Australian PCI® will shed light on how this situation develops and, ideally, improves."
Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling