New construction orders rose by 20% in the three months to January 2003 compared to the previous three month period, according to figures released by the DTI. However, this apparently healthy figure masks falls in three of the five major sectors canvassed.
In contrast to the overall rise, orders in the infrastructure, private commercial and private industrial sectors fell by 17%, 11% and 33% respectively over this period.

The private housing sector saw an 8% rise on figures on the previous three months and was up 15% on the same period in 2002. Public housing orders showed a 20% increase on the previous three months, but this was 5% lower than the same period in 2002.

The largest increase came in public non-housing orders. These rose by 50%, 114% up over the same period in 2002.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor