{"id":537582,"date":"2026-02-05T11:27:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=537582"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:36:40","slug":"brighter-days-ahead-as-confidence-rises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/sections\/data\/brighter-days-ahead-as-confidence-rises-05-02-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"PMI data: &#8216;Brighter days ahead&#8217; as confidence rises"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Commentators believe the sector could be climbing out of its long-running slump as business confidence hit its highest level in eight months.<\/p>\n<p>The Purchasing Managers\u2019 Index (PMI) from S&amp;P Global also rose to 46.4 in January, its highest level since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/sections\/data\/drop-in-new-orders-hits-industry-confidence-04-07-2025\/\">June 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Any reading below 50 shows industry activity shrinking. Although activity contracted again, the rate of decline was much improved from December\u2019s 40.1.<\/p>\n<p>According to S&amp;P, companies surveyed showed their highest level of optimism since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/sections\/data\/subcontractor-usage-drops-to-five-year-low-pmi-data-reveals-05-06-2025\/\">May 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>They cited lower borrowing costs, greater infrastructure spending and hopes of a recovery in housing market activity as factors likely to support construction workloads, it added.<\/p>\n<p>Aecom head of cost management Brian Smith said: \u201cA second consecutive month of slowing decline suggests that the market could be climbing out of its slump and contractors can see brighter days ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cWhat will dictate when the market makes a full recovery is clients\u2019 ability to move forward with projects. Tender prices are rising, as contractors pass on labour and material costs, and sticky inflation means that interest rates aren\u2019t being cut as quickly as some may have hoped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Commercial building was the strongest performing part of the sector during the month, with a reading of 48.4, with companies citing post-Budget clarity and improved investment sentiment helping to slow the decline.<\/p>\n<p>Housebuilding was the worst segment, with a 39.3 score on the index, although its contraction was the slowest it has been in three months.<\/p>\n<p>Max Jones, head of construction at Lloyds Bank, said the sector would welcome the momentum. \u201cDespite ongoing challenges, including sticky cost inflation, there are signs that construction firms are optimistic about 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany are focused on upskilling their workforce and investing in apprenticeships, and civil engineering is looking particularly busy as major new investments in water, energy and grid infrastructure get underway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence economics director Tim Moore said the data was encouraging.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe latest reduction in total industry activity was the slowest since last June. Commercial work outperformed, with activity moving close to stabilisation amid a post-Budget boost to contract awards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Moore noted that supply conditions improved, with lead times for materials shortening for the sixth month in a row and subcontractor availability increasing.<\/p>\n<p>Separate data released today by Glenigan covering the three months to the end of January also showed the sector is still in a depression.<\/p>\n<p>Its construction index found that the value of work starting on site for all projects worth \u00a3100m or less during the three months to January declined 9 per cent and remained 16 per cent below 2025 levels.<\/p>\n<p>Commercial office and industrial project starts were the best performing areas of activity, with housebuilding the worst.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commentators believe the sector could be climbing out of its long-running slump as business confidence hit its highest level in eight months. The Purchasing Managers\u2019 Index (PMI) from S&amp;P Global also rose to 46.4 in January, its highest level since June 2025. Any reading below 50 shows industry activity shrinking. Although activity contracted again, the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43915,"featured_media":533722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78193],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.7 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>PMI data: &#039;Brighter days ahead&#039; as confidence rises | Construction News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Commentators believe the sector could be climbing out of its long-running slump as business confidence hit its highest level in eight months. 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