Following a buoyant 2017 and continued growth in 2018, the European construction market is expected to show modest growth this year. As a result, cement prices are expected to firm, easing the pressure on EBITDA margins of building material companies across the region. By Jean-Christophe Lefèvre-Moulenq, CM-CIC Market Solutions (ESN), France.
After a particularly buoyant 2017, a sharp deceleration was expected in the European construction market in 2018 and 2019 but without any disruption. In 2019 demand is forecast to increase by 1.4 per cent in western Europe (Euroconstruct expects +1.5 per cent).
This forecast covers the major differences between countries:
• likely decline in some northern European countries and the UK
• confirmed momentum in Germany
• stability in France
• a continuation of the catch-up phenomenon in southern Europe, particularly in Spain where the current rise in demand is due to a normalisation effect after the property market went off the rails between 2007-13.
