A first-of-its-kind report from Currie & Browne has highlighted the catastrophic effects of uncertainty on global construction
A quarter of projects were cancelled in the last 12 months due to uncertainty, while 32% of projects were de-scoped due to uncertainty, according to the Construction Uncertainty Index.
Primary factors causing global uncertainty include cost inflation, energy price volatility, supply chain disruptions, and labour and skill shortages.
The report surveyed more than 1,000 decision makers
The survey respondents span the globe as the survey seeks to establish a global average feeling, and found that firms suffered an average of 13.7% of financial loss on their construction pipeline in the last year.
In terms of global construction spending, this is equal to $2.5tn(£1.9tn).
Alan Manuel, CEO of Currie & Brown, wrote in the report’s foreword: “From inflation and geopolitical conflict to climate change and fast-moving technology, today’s pressures rarely appear on their own. They overlap and spread across industries and borders. A policy change in one region can disrupt supply chains in another. A climate event can delay projects far beyond its source.
“Construction leaders face pressure on two sides. External shocks include rising costs, political risk and weather events. Internal issues range from outdated procurement to rushed design and unclear governance.
“These risks do not stay separate. They connect and grow. When they collide, they increase costs, damage trust, and put delivery at risk. If we don’t control them, they only create more uncertainty.
“We must stop planning for uncertainty and start building for it.”
The full report can be read here.
Tough times for construction companies
Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, construction firms have frequently been among the hardest-hit businesses in the UK, with high insolvency rates and some of the largest firms in the country reporting losses.
For example, in July, Taylor Wimpey recorded a loss of £92m after addressing issues related to cladding safety following the Grenfell inquiry and updating safety standards. This loss is in the six months to 29 June.
The costs incurred by the company for remediation amount to roughly £222m, £145m for historic defects, £38m for site-specific cost increases, and £39.5m for other cladding remediation.
You can read more about the multiple construction companies that fell into administration this year, including J S Wright, Colwin Construction, Breyer Group, Elements Europe, Building for Humanity, Ardmore Construction Ltd, and more.
The construction industry consistently ranks as the industry with the highest number of insolvencies, with August seeing the latest figures from the government show 2,081 companies fall in July alone.
June saw 3,984, making 17% of all industry insolvencies.
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