Growth in the UK construction sector gained momentum during May, with activity and new business increasing at sharper rates than in April, with the result that overall activity rose at the fastest pace for two years, according to the latest PMI figures from S&P Global.
Rising workloads prompted renewed expansions in purchasing activity and employment, while business confidence also strengthened.
Supply-chain conditions continued to improve amid reports of good stock availability at vendors. This contributed to the pace of input cost inflation slowing to a marginal pace.
Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “The UK construction sector looks to be building good momentum as we approach the middle of 2024, highlighted by activity increasing at the fastest pace in two years during May.
“Particularly pleasing was the broad-based nature of the rise in activity as work on housing projects increased for the first time in more than a year-and-a-half.
“Firms are gearing up for further growth in the months ahead, posting renewed expansions in both employment and purchasing activity as workloads increase.
“Moreover, the supply-chain environment continued to improve in May. Companies were able to secure inputs much more quickly than in April and at prices that were only slightly higher than in the previous month on average. These factors should help constructors in their efforts to ramp up operations in line with greater new order inflows.”
