The European construction market

According to a report released at the end of the 80th Euroconstruct conference (Budapest, 4 December 2015), Europe’s construction industry enjoyed a year of recovery in 2015.

For the second year running, total construction output in Euroconstruct’s 19 member states set a positive trend, with growth of 1.6% compared with the previous year, although this figure fell short of the forecasts made in June, which envisaged growth of 1.9% by the end of the year.

Some countries are still dealing with the consequences of recession, however. These include France, which closed 2015 with negative growth indicators, and Italy and Germany, whose production levels only just exceeded those of the previous year. The industry’s best performers in 2015, however, were Ireland (+10.6%), Slovakia (+10.3%), the Czech Republic (+7.4%) and the Netherlands (+6%). Growth in Poland and Ireland is expected to continue at a similar pace in the period 2016-2018, with annual increases in construction output of between 7% and 9%.

Read the full article published on Ceramic World Review 115/2016