Infrastructure contractors today highlighted growing concerns over the uneven distribution of civil engineering activity across the UK, with growth in civil engineering workloads showing the weakest return since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA)’s most recent Workload Trends Survey showed that although contractors’ workloads are continuing to increase, this growth was weakest since late 2020, with only seven per cent of firms reporting increased workloads, on balance.
Growth was limited to just two sectors – electricity and water & sewerage – while other areas, including roads, rail, and communications, experienced contraction. Divergence across nations was also evident, with workloads falling in England for the first time since 2020, while Scotland continued to see growth.
Commenting, CECA Director of Policy & Public Affairs Ben Goodwin said: “The picture that emerges from this survey of CECA members is of a two-speed industry, where investment in energy and utilities is providing a degree of resilience, while other parts of our sector are seeing falling workloads, squeezed margins, and rising costs.
“Although workloads and employment are continuing to grow across the industry as a whole, there is a palpable slowing down of expansion. Ahead of the forthcoming Budget, this should act as a warning sign to Government.
“Our members are reporting that cost inflation, supply chain challenges, and skills shortages are threatening to choke off growth at a time that the UK’s ambitions for net zero, connectivity, and regional regeneration require sustained investment, investor confidence, and a business environment in which contractors can plan for the future.
“We call on the UK Government to renew its focus on stalled sectors such as local roads, rail, and preliminary works, as well as taking positive steps towards addressing inflationary pressures, particularly for SMEs, that are disproportionately exposed to rising costs.
“Recent policy developments, such as the creation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) and the roll-out of the Government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Plan, have been broadly welcomed by industry – but more can be done to prime the infrastructure sector for growth.
“That’s why ahead of the Autumn Budget, CECA has called for the UK Government to maintain momentum in project delivery, work with industry on procurement reform to optimise outcomes, and to give employers the flexibility to invest in training that reflects real-world demands.
“If the UK Government wants Britain’s infrastructure ambitions to be delivered in full, it must act now to give businesses the certainty and stability they need, to ensure communities can benefit from the roads, rail, energy and utility systems that are the backbone of sustainable economic growth.”
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