The orders volume in the construction sector of Germany in the first quarter fell by 18% y/y

The volume of orders of German construction companies in the first quarter of 2023 fell by 18% y/y. This is evidenced by the data of the industry association Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie, reports Kallanish.

As the managing director of the association Tim-Oliver Muller noted, the drop in the volume of orders in residential construction in January-March amounted to almost 40% y/y. This indicator could not be balanced by commercial or public projects. Revenue in the construction sector in the first quarter of 2023 fell by 8% year-on-year.

The large volumes of orders accumulated in previous years did not have a stabilizing effect either. In 2023, the country did not experience the traditional spring revival of construction.

German companies are pessimistic about the prospects for the next 12 months. According to a recent survey by the Association of German chambers of industry and commerce (DIHK), 35% of construction firms expect the business situation to worsen. This forecast was shared by 43% of housing construction companies. Only about 8% expected an improvement over the period.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the production in the construction sector of the European Union in March 2023 decreased by 1.2% compared to the same period in 2022, according to Eurostat data. Compared to February 2023, in March, seasonally adjusted production in the EU construction sector decreased by 1.9%. In the first quarter of 2023, production in the construction sector of the EU increased by 0.4% compared to the same period.

Also, EUROFER predicts that in 2023 the volume of construction in the EU will decrease by 1.6% and will recover to 1.3% in 2024. In 2022, the volume of production in the construction sector of the EU increased by +4.8%.