The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index fell a further 1.1 points to 38.9 in December, with deteriorating indices for activity, new orders and supplier deliveries contributing to the lowest Australian PCI® result in six and a half years (readings below 50 indicate contraction in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the decrease):
This was the lowest Australian PCI® result since May 2013. Deteriorating indexes for activity, new orders and deliveries from suppliers all indicated a further softening in business conditions across the construction industry.
Across the four sectors included in the Australian PCI®, stable conditions were reported in house building for a second consecutive month. Elsewhere however, continued falls in activity were evident in December across the apartments, commercial and engineering construction sectors…
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Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
