Romania\u2019s construction works volume contracted by 2.9% y\/y in May, dragged down by the 13.3% y\/y plunge in the residential buildings segment and by the 6.9% y\/y decline in the non-residential buildings segment, according to data published by the statistics office INS.<\/p>\n
The volume of engineering work kept growing by 4.5% y\/y.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to our calculations, the combined volume of construction works delivered by Romanian construction companies in April-May, a period that avoids the effects of different Orthodox Easter dates, increased by 5.4% y\/y. \u00a0This marks a visible improvement from the 7.0% y\/y contraction marked in Q1.<\/p>\n
The non-residential buildings segment demonstrates the weakest performance this year, remaining on the negative side with a 5.8% y\/y decline in April-May after the sharp 33.6% y\/y plunge in Q1. The segment showed signs of fatigue when it advanced by only 0.9% y\/y in 2023.<\/p>\n
The more heterogeneous segment of non-residential buildings posted a decent 3.4% y\/y advance in April-May after the slight 1.4% y\/y decline in Q1. Last year, the segment grew by 4.8% y\/y.<\/p>\n
The civil engineering segment, bringing together various infrastructure projects, is the driver for the whale market\u2019s growth in April-May and the best-performing of the three segments. The volume of such construction works increased by 12.2% y\/y in April-May after the 6.5% y\/y advance in Q1. Last year, the segment marked an outstanding 31.9% y\/y growth.<\/p>\n