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Construction Slump Points To Economic Downturn

Construction slump points to economic downturn

The Australian Industry Group AiG Housing Industry Association HIA Performance of Construction Index PCI reveals that building activity fell sharply in May after also falling heavily in April.

The index now stands at a paltry 36.9 well below the benchmark number of 50 that separates an expanding industry ?from: http://www.buildingmaterialschina.com/? from a contracting one.

This is the lowest result and the sharpest monthly fall in the index’s two and a half year history.

The previous sharpest fall was the month before.

Time warp

These figures stand in stark contrast to Australian Bureau of Statistics ABS data released on Wednesday.

The official figures showed stronger than expected economic growth with Gross Domestic Product GDP expanding by 0.6 per cent compared to a Reuters poll of economists on average forecasting 0.3 per cent growth.

However the ABS figures were quarterly figures from the three months to March whereas more recent data continues to show weakness in most major sectors of the economy except those related to mining and energy.

The AiG’s associate director of economics from: http://www.buildingmaterialschina.com/buyeconomics/ and research Tony Pensabene said: “Contrary to recent reports of the construction industry holding up this leading indicator of the industry signals that higher interest rates tighter liquidity and lower confidence levels are having a broad based impact on activity.

“The results which are up to three months ahead of official data show that weakness in the industry has intensified with reductions in activity extending beyond house building and apartments to commercial and engineering construction.

This conclusion is supported by recent official profit figures which showed an 18.1 per cent fall in seasonally adjusted construction profits for the quarter year to March.

Monthly ABS building approvals statistics have also showed a decisive shift lower dropping 1.3 per cent in April in trend terms.

This was despite a 7.8 per cent rise in the seasonally adjusted figure for April which was mainly attributable to large surge in the volatile apartment sector where a few large developments can skew the figures in any given month.

Retail sales have also declined in the months since the GDP data was collected with a modest rise in March offset by an equal fall in April leaving the trend growth in retail sales flatlining at 0.0 per cent.

The retail FROM: http://www.buildingmaterialschina.com/buyretail/ figures are widely used as a more current indicator of the economy because retail spending is often the first area where consumers will cut back when they feel the hippocket pinch.

The underlying question is which data to believe the timelagged but comprehensive official GDP figures or more current private and official monthly indices operating on smaller samples the PCI surveys 120 companies.

Big falls

Probably the greatest factor lending weight to the dire findings of some monthly surveys such as the PCI is the sheer scale of the declines.

Even allowing for possible deficiencies in the data it is hard to imagine the index being so far off the mark as to cast doubt on the conclusion that construction is in the midst of a steep decline that began around the start of the year.

The other particularly worrying findings of the index were that new orders had fallen sharply and that construction

FROM: http://www.buildingmaterialschina.com/buyconstruction/ employment had fallen for the second month in a row.

The new orders subindex is at 36.1 which is the lowest result for incoming work in the PCI’s history causing concern for builders given the considerable time lags between orders and completion in construction.

“Of concern new orders for the industry as a whole are now at their lowest level in almost three years which means that the current weakness in activity is likely to persist during the months ahead” Mr Pensabene said.

The fall in employment also seems to indicate construction companies’ belief that the decline is not a shortterm aberration as they reduce costs by cutting staff.

The report’s authors have attributed the falls in activity to higher interest rates food bills and fuel http://www.buildingmaterialschina.com/buy_fuel2520/costs impacting on consumer demand as well as the rising cost to industry of fuel and building materials such as steel.

The HIA’s chief economist Harley Dale said that these pressures are likely to become more apparent in the next set of ABS figures for the June quarter.

“A weak March quarter for residential construction indicators will be compounded by an even softer June quarter” he said.

The Reserve Bank and expectant borrowers will have to wait until September 3 for the next set of detailed official GDP figures to either confirm or refute the recent evidence of a slow down.

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Chrysler Pinning Hopes On Minivan Sales Surge

Twentyfive years ago Chrysler introduced a family of iconic vehicles minivans that quickly boosted the struggling automaker pictured below with the current generation model. Just a few years removed from a federal government bail out Chrysler needed something that would help the automaker stand out its segment inventing minivans proved to be the answer.

For the first several years Chrysler had no competition in the segment as Ford and GM had nothing to counter the Dodge Caravan Plymouth Voyager and the Chrysler Town Country. It would be several more years before Toyota Honda and Nissan got into the game as well a head start that has kept the Chrysler minivans at the top of the sales heap ever since.

Grand Caravan Sales Down Sharply

Sales since the fifthgeneration minivans were launched six months ago are down 12 not surprising given the overall drop in the economy. The Dodge Grand Caravan version has experienced the largest decline nearly 20 while the Town Country has slipped just 1.7. The newest generation minivans are the first where the shortened wheelbase model isnt available a strong seller for the Dodge brand.

But it is the Spring months when Chrysler and Dodge dealers usually sell the most minivans a full 40 of their annual sales as families prepare to take their summer vacations. Unknown for this year are two things: how high gas prices and a struggling economy will impact sales. Many consumers are delaying their purchases until gas prices stabilize and the economy improves.

Good Reviews May Help

Although the Chrysler minivans have trailed Honda and Toyota in quality but not in sales the reviews for the current iteration have been good. The vehicles are well equipped and they come with features not available by Honda and Toyota including stow n go seating. It also helps that Ford and General Motors have since exited the segment which has been declining. Crossovers are gaining in strength a new segment which may eventually put more pressure on Chrysler and its competitors.

About the writer:  Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary North Carolina. Matt provides magazine web content and article writing services to clients all over the world serving the automotive human interest and business communities. If you are looking for quality performance parts for your vehicles then consider Dodge Caravan mufflers and Dodge Caravan tail lights products which are available to you at discount prices.