TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1984
CONSTRUCTION WORK VALUE PUBLISHED
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THE TOTAL GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY ALL BUILDING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONTRACTORS (INCLUDING MAIN CONTRACTORS AND SUB-CONTRACTORS) WAS $8 557 MILLION IN THE FIRST QUARTER THIS YEAR, ACCORDING TO SURVEY RESULTS RELEASED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY.
THIS REPRESENTED DECREASES OF SEVEN PER CENT FROM THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND TWO PER CENT FROM THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.
SINCE SUB-CONTRACTING IS A COMMON PRACTICE IN CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY, THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DOUBLE-COUNTING IN THE TOTAL GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY ALL CONTRACTORS, A DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN EXPLAINED.
FOR THIS REASON, THE SURVEY RESULTS GIVE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN OUTPUT VALUES OF MAIN CONTRACTORS AND SUB-CONTRACTORS.
FOR MAIN CONTRACTORS, AN INDEX OF VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED WAS COMPUTED WITH THE QUARTERLY OUTPUT AVERAGE OF 1982 TAKEN AS 100.
ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS, THE INDEX OF VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS WAS 94.4 IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1983. DROPPING TO 89.1 AND 87.6 IN THE SECOND AND THIRD QUARTERS RESPECTIVELY. THE DROP WAS HALTED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER AS THE INDEX REBOUNDED TO 94.9. HOWEVER, THE UPTURN DID NOT LAST LONG AND THE INDEX FELL BACK TO 91.9 IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1984.
THE DEPARTMENT INTRODUCED A NEW SERIES OF QUARTERLY SURVEYS OF CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT IN EARLY 1983 WITH THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING A PROMPT INDICATOR OF CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS AND OUTPUT TRENDS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. BESIDES ANNOUNCING THE RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1984, THE DEPARTMENT TODAY RELEASED, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE FINDINGS FOR THE FOUR QUARTERS OF 1983.
AS IN THE PAST, THE LATEST SURVEY DISTINGUISHES CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED AT BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION SITES, AT OTHER MINOR NEW CONSTRUCTION WORK LOCATIONS, AND AT ERECTED BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES.
IN THE CASE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION SITES, FURTHER BREAKDOWN INTO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROJECTS, AND ANALYS IS BY END USE OF BUILDING OR STRUCTURE, BY NATURE OF CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AND BY GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF SITE ARE ALSO AVAILABLE.
THE OUTPUT VALUE OF PUBLIC PROJECTS IN THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF 1983 AVERAGED AROUND $2 300 MILLION, RISING BY 16 PER CENT TO $2 628 MILLION IN THE FOURTH QUARTER.
IT DROPPED, HOWEVER, TO $2 489 MILLION IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1984, WHICH WAS STILL EIGHT PER CENT HIGHER THAN THAT IN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.
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