Construction industry gets fewer orders
The Swiss Association of Master Builders expects a decline in construction activity over the next two years. It bases its forecast on a decline in incoming orders in the first quarter of 2023, due to rising interest rates and weak economic growth.
Incoming orders in the construction industry were 8.1 percent lower in the first quarter of 2023 than in the same quarter of the previous year, the Swiss Association of Master Builders(SBA) informed in a statement. It assumes that this decline will have a negative impact on construction activity over the next one to two years. The SBC attributes the decline in new orders to higher interest rates and construction costs as well as a slowdown in economic growth.
In residential construction, the SBC believes that lower construction activity could lead to a shift from a housing surplus to a housing shortage. As countermeasures, the association calls for “a bundle of practice-oriented measures”. Specifically, the communication mentions, among other things, curbing objections and shorter objection periods as well as reducing “overregulation” in structure plans and laws. Housing promotion should be based on market economy criteria and not on state intervention.
In the short term, the SBC sees a positive outlook for the construction industry. Although turnover in the main construction sector in the first quarter was 150 million francs or 3.1 per cent lower than in the same quarter of the previous year, the SBC is forecasting a slight increase in turnover in the second quarter. For the second quarter, however, the construction index compiled by SBC in collaboration with Credit Suisse forecasts turnover growth of 1.1 percent.
The shortage of skilled workers remains one of the biggest challenges facing the industry. At the Construction Industry Day on 30 June in Lugano, the SBC wants to show solutions here.