The civil engineering sector led the fall in output in the construction sector last month, according to the latest data from the bellwether IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index.
Construction saw the sharpest fall in civil engineering activity since March 2009, with the PMI recording 44.4 in December, down on 45.3 in November and against the neutral no-change reading of 50 for the eighth consecutive month.
The current period of falling business activity the is longest recorded by the IHS Markit/CIPS survey for almost a decade.
A decline in input buying alleviated supply chain bottlenecks and vendor lead times lengthened to the least marked extent since September 2010, while the increase in overall purchasing costs was only modest and the weakest for almost 10 years.
Tim Moore, economics associate director at IHS Markit, said:
“Service companies widely commented on delayed spending decisions and a headwind to sales from domestic political uncertainty in the run-up to the General Election.
“With manufacturing and construction output also subdued in December, the latest PMI surveys collectively signal an overall stagnation of the UK economy at the end of 2019.”
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