Construction industry Swiss construction industry with higher turnover and gloomy outlook

Swiss construction companies achieved slightly higher turnover in the first nine months than in the same period last year. However, the outlook is gloomy. Incoming orders have shrunk.

From January to September, turnover rose to 17.5 billion Swiss francs, as announced by the Swiss Association of Master Builders (SBV) in a press release on Wednesday. This is 0.6 percent more than in the same period last year.

The increase is due to civil engineering, which grew by 3.7 percent to 8.6 billion Swiss francs. In building construction, however, turnover fell slightly by 2.3 percent to 8.9 billion Swiss francs.

However, things do not look so good for the future. Incoming orders shrank by 1.4 percent to 17.3 billion Swiss francs. Building construction suffered here (-5.7 percent), while civil engineering grew by 3.3 percent.

The order backlog decreased by 3.7% to CHF 14.9 billion at the end of September 2024. "This corresponds to an order backlog of around 7.7 months," wrote the master builders' association. All sectors and regions were affected by the decline.

"The outlook for the coming quarters is somewhat gloomy. The construction index suggests that construction activity is likely to move sideways or even decline in the coming quarters, depending on the sector," it continued.

SDA