‘Increased Demand’ For Structural Steelwork By 2018

The demand for structural steelwork in the UK – possibly including Yorkshire construction accessories and similar – is expected to increase by 23 per cent between now and 2018, according to a new survey.

Conducted by Construction Markets, the study suggested that the biggest yearly rise will come in 2015 with a nine per cent hike from 818,000 tonnes to 895,000 tonnes off the back of a six per cent rise seen last year, the Construction Index reports.

Private office sector growth in London and other cities around the country has helped drive demand for the sector’s structural steelwork, with the survey further predicting that overall consumption will continue to increase by three per cent annually.

“The strength of the industrial sector reflects the ongoing trend for online retailing and the growing need for warehousing and distribution facilities to support this. Steel has a high strength-to-weight ratio so it is ideal for industrial buildings because of the ability to provide very long column-free internal spaces,” Sarah McCann-Bartlett, director-general of the British Constructional Steelwork Association, remarked.

These findings come after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed in its UK Construction Market Survey last month (January) that industry workloads were on the rise, climbing in the final quarter of 2014.

Such results were forthcoming despite the fact that the sector is currently facing skills shortages, which 49 per cent of those questioned said they believe would hinder further growth in the industry. Confidence still remained high, however, with 68 per cent of survey respondents expecting their workloads to increase moving forwards.