Deloitte’s latest quarterly capex outlook report is out:
Business investment has returned to pre-COVID levels ahead of the Omicron outbreak. Releasing the latest edition of Deloitte Access Economics’ quarterly Investment Monitor, Deloitte Access Economics partner and report lead author, Stephen Smith, said: “Investment has been supported by government investment incentives, record infrastructure spending by state governments, the strength of the share market, as well as the fall in interest rates that accompanied the outbreak of COVID.
“Yet there are still a number of concerns for the outlook in 2022. Contractors are facing some significant challenges. Delta lockdowns in eastern Australia created a backlog of work, tight borders and a highly competitive global market are making it difficult to get workers from overseas, a large pipeline of residential construction activity in Australia creates additional competition for workers, and global supply shortages are leading to large increases in the cost of building materials such as timber and steel. These factors, along with Omicron-related risks, make it harder than ever for contractors to deliver projects on time and on budget.
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David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
