As employment shrank at a record rate and demand was hit, new orders also plummeted. April’s figure of 15.1 came after a substantial drop in March and was a new record low. The March figure had fallen to 33.5. While Germany registered a far slower decline, survey data showed extreme contractions in construction output recorded by Italy and France.
Following a severe drop in March, construction output across the euro area slumped in April. Amid reports of widespread work suspensions among construction firms, Italy and France especially hard hit.
With new orders falling at the sharpest rate seen in over 20 years of data collection, demand was also severely affected by the lockdown measures. In response, firms made deep cuts to their purchasing activity and workforce numbers. With the Covid-19 crisis the predominant concern among eurozone construction firms, business sentiment remained negative in April.
Extending the current sequence of contractions to nine months, eurozone civil engineering activity fell further in April. With Italy recording an extreme decline, national data revealed a collapse of civil engineering in France.
With Italy and France recording substantial drops in activity during April, the decline in construction output deepened across eurozone's three largest economies. A comparatively slower decline registered by Germany.
Despite the substantially reduced purchasing demand, supply chains remained under pressure. With the Future Activity Index coming in well below the neutral 50.0 level, eurozone building companies remained pessimistic about future activity.
