The AIG/HIA Australian Performance of Construction Index fell to 42.6 in December 2018 from 44.5 in the previous month, indicating that the construction industry fell at the steepest rate in five-and-a-half years. Weighing heavily on overall industry conditions was a further weakening in the house and apartment building sectors where rates of decline in activity were the most marked in six years. Meanwhile, commercial construction remained subdued while engineering construction drifted into mild negative territory as survey respondents closed out 2018 with fewer new tender wins. The activity sub-index plunged 5.9 points to 35.7 and the new order sub-index dropped 4.8 points to 41.0. In contrast, the employment sub-index jumped 5.1 points to 49.4, still remaining in negative territory. Meantime, the wages sub-index edged down 0.7 points to 60.9 and the capacity utilization sub-index inched up 0.2 points to 74.5 percent. Construction Pmi in Australia averaged 46.45 Index Points from 2005 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 60.50 Index Points in July of 2017 and a record low of 29.24 Index Points in December of 2008.
Construction Pmi in Australia is expected to be 55.60 Index Points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Construction Pmi in Australia to stand at 51.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Australia Construction PMI is projected to trend around 50.00 Index Points in 2020, according to our econometric models.