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B arbour ABI’s Snap Analysis, which looks at the data for planning applications, planning approvals and contract awards and gives a holistic picture of activity in the construction industry over the short, medium and long term, reveals that the second quarter of 2022 has seen a fall in activity in the UK. Barbour ABI’s Chief Economist, Tom Hall, says construction may well be in “a new, lower phase of activity” after April saw a fairly dramatic fall in activity from high levels to a more mixed picture and May’s data was a continuation of this new trend. He attributed this to uncertainty over the strength of the UK economy to weather the cost-of-living crisis and the wider geopolitical outlook. e driving forces have been the industrial, residential and healthcare sectors. Residential contract awards were worth £2.1bn - a 16% increase on April and above the long-term average - but well below the Q1 2022’s levels of £2.7bn per month. Healthcare construction contract awards soared by 48% in May to £300m, which is consistent with 2021’s above average levels for the sector. Contract awards in the Industrial construction sector were also positive in May with a value of £1.2bn. is gure was driven by logistics and storage projects. Infrastructure contract awards fell by 43% to £900m. Renewable energy projects are still dominating contract awards in this sector. e commercial, education and hotel/leisure sectors also recorded weak levels of contract awards in May. Commercial construction contract awards were worth just £400m - a huge drop on the £1bn recorded each month in Q1 2022. Education was also very weak, with just £300m of contracts awarded, down from £600m per month in Q1 2022 and £500m per month in 2021. May was also a tough month in the hotel and leisure sector. Only £300m worth of contracts were awarded, which is below average levels. May was the lowest month since September 2021 for planning approvals, with virtually every sector recording a decrease on April levels. Bucking the trend is the Industrial sector, which had a great month with £1.5bn of projects receiving the go-ahead. Infrastructure recorded the most dramatic fall at 72% down on April activity. However, with £1.6bn of projects receiving planning approval, May was still above the long-term average. e sector continues to be dominated by renewable energy projects, with the largest one in May being a £645m exible generation plant in the East of England. Residential planning projects worth £3.1bn received approval in May. is was a 17% drop on April and the lowest level for four months. £400m of planning approvals were received in May in the commercial sector, a 37% fall from the average level recorded in April. e hotel and leisure sector fell by 27% and recorded its weakest month since July 2021. Healthcare was just slightly below average levels at £130m of projects receiving approval in May, but education Data from construction industry intelligence provider, Barbour ABI, indicates a downward trend. COULD THE POST COVID CONSTRUCTION BOOM BE OVER? 46 Summer 2022