Prognosesenteret AB
Julia Karlsson

Mail: bengt.henricson@prognoscentret.se
Web: www.prognoscentret.se

Construction activity is finding its way back to higher levels, orders received and employment showing further growth. The order situation is satisfactory and four out of five firms are satisfied with the volume of assignments, according to NIER. The industry is even beginning to experience a labour shortage. Nearly one-third of the firms reported this. Tender prices are also expected to rise slightly. The outlook for the next twelve months is still bright and over 50 per cent of the firms is looking forward to a rising level of activity. The construction industry is optimistic about the near future and expects a further increase in the market.

The structure of the Swedish building market has changed significantly over the last decade. Before the major dropdown in the market in early 1990ies, the four market segments (new + R&M residential, new + R&M non-residential) were pretty much equally big. The volume of building starts of new residential was twice as high as today. For new non-residential the change over the last decade is even more dramatic. In 1990 approximately 4.9 million square metres new non-residential were started, and ever since then, this segment has been facing a significant negative trend. That is, until now. We are predicting a growth in the new construction non-residential market for every year of the rest of the forecast period.