From the AIG:
Australian PCI®– Key Findings for April:
•The Ai Group/HIA Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) slipped into contraction in April, declining by 3.1 points to 47.0.
•The new orders sub-index shed half of last month’s solid gains and fell back into negative territory, dropping 6.2 points to 44.6.
•Construction activity declined slightly more steeply this month (down 0.8 points to 48.3), while employment (down 3.4 points to 46.6) and supplier deliveries (down 0.8 points to 48.3) also returned to contraction.
•In residential construction, house building continued to expand but its rate of growth slowed (down 4.2 points to 51.6), while apartment building contracted after two months of growth (down 5.2 points to 49.7).
•Engineering construction activity continued to contract, but at a slower rate than in March (up 4.4 points to 45.6), while commercial construction recorded a sixth month in contraction (up 1.1 points to 48.1).
•Pressures on profit margins remain strong: the wages sub-index (down 4.3 points to 55.1) and input costs (down 3.4 points to 76.1) remain elevated, while the selling prices sub-index increased by 2.6 points to 52.0 – above the 50-point threshold for only the second time in the past six months. The gap between input costs and selling prices reflects the continuation of cost burdens and reports from respondents of a highly competitive tender pricing environment.
Full report.
