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Private housing has been the worst hit construction sector from the recent economic slowdown and the latest forecasts from the Construction Products Association suggest it is certainly not going to improve in the short term. By Dr. Noble Francis

The lack of credit has decimated housing demand, despite interest rate cuts…

Construction companies need to manage the growing impact of international mobility. By Jonathan Hook

A recent PwC survey found that over 90 per cent of construction companies rank “international mobility” – moving employees around the world for business needs – as important to their company’s success.All indications are that this trend…

As times get worse in this industry – which is now 70,000 jobs lighter according to reports – it becomes even more important to cut those costs to the bone.By Ross Sturley

But even at this time, we need to be thinking about positioning for the recovery. So we need to…

Ten things to cut in the recession, before you cut your marketing – no.2

As regular consumers of this column will know, CIMCIG champions the sensible continutation of marketing activity in tough times.Without boring you with the details again, it’s been shown that companies who continue their marketing activity in recessions…

I saw a poster once that said “Remember, it’s always darkest just before it goes completely pitch black”.* Well, it seems pretty dark now, doesn’t it? Gloom, gloom, gloom is all there seems to be. By Ross Sturley

This week we’ve had the Top 100 contractors saying they see no improvement…

Reports this week suggest that the dark figure of recession is about to smite the construction industry with his angry stick, says Ross Sturley

The Construction Products Association and the Construction Confederation released an economic study that says construction output will shrink both this year and next, as the problems of…

There are question marks over government spending. By Dr Noble Francis

The Government has reiterated its commitment to social housing provision, new schools, hospitals and prisons. But recent events have placed a question mark over whether this spending will occur. How could this affect construction?The Treasury says net debt should be…

So it is suggested we'll get a high-level civil servant to be a champion for construction - a Chief Construction Officer (CCO), says Ross Sturley

This was the recommendation of the BERR Committee that reported on it's inquiry into the industry recently.This would be a 'good thing', according to the industry…

It’s a sure sign of the doom and gloom in the housing sector that some of the industry’s major players have been writing down the value of their land. By Jonathan Hook

The process at the big three has been interesting to watch. Barratt said that it had carried out a…

Market development is a long term strategy, not something you can fix on a flying visit, says Ross Sturley

Life's hard at the moment, it must be, even the big money machine that is volume housebuilding has gone belly up. Lots of you are looking outside your usual customers to make…