After European construction output in 2020 declined by 4.7% vis à vis 2019, construction research network Euroconstruct forecasts an increase of 5.6% to €1.74tn for the current year. According to the current forecast, which was presented at the Euroconstruct conference in Verona on 11 and 12 November, construction output is thus developing better than had been expected at the summer conference, which had been organised in the form of a webinar on 10 and 11 June. At the June event, a 5.1% decline in output had been estimated for 2020, followed by a forecast increase of 3.8% in the current year. Construction output is expected to increase by 3.6% in 2022, and based on the next two years, growth of just 1.5% per year is anticipated.
The recovery following the corona-related decline in 2020 is mainly due to the increase in completed infrastructure projects, state-subsidised building renovation and the generally more favourable economic environment. However, construction output is developing along varying lines in the individual countries. In seven of the altogether 19 Euroconstruct countries, production is expected to exceed the 2019 figure as early as 2021. In six other countries, an increase back to the 2019 level is anticipated. In the remaining countries, production is expected to fall short of the pre-crisis level by as much as 10%.
