1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/01/2002   
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Contents >> Construction >> Trends in construction activity

Trends over recent years in the level of activity of the construction industry as a whole are shown in table 20.3, which shows the value of work done, in chain volume terms, by kind of activity. Chain volume measures show changes in value after the direct effects of price changes have been eliminated. The table illustrates that, in 1999-2000, residential construction accounted for 42% of the activity, with engineering construction accounting for a further 33%, and non-residential construction for the remaining 25%. These were similar to the proportions in 1997-98 and in 1998-99. Over the past ten years the volumes of activity in residential and engineering construction have both grown by over 60%, whereas non-residential construction has grown by 18%.

The table also illustrates how the pattern of building activity changes over time. The pattern was very different in 1993-94. In that year, residential building accounted for 45% of total construction activity, non-residential building contributed just under a quarter of activity (22%) and engineering construction the remaining 32%. From then until 1996-97, the proportion of total construction activity occurring in residential building had declined, replaced by growth in the proportion coming from non-residential building and engineering construction. In the past three years, residential building's share of the total value of construction work done has increased.


20.3 TOTAL CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY, Value of Work Done By Type of Activity, Chain Volume Measures(a)
Financial year
Residential
building

$m
Non-residential
building

$m
Engineering
construction

$m
Total
construction(b)

$m
1991-92
14,779
11,998
11,998
39,059
1992-93
17,281
10,768
12,351
40,839
1993-94
18,939
10,356
13,378
43,457
1994-95
19,671
11,252
13,710
45,686
1995-96
16,288
12,637
15,008
44,923
1996-97
16,137
13,785
15,472
46,621
1997-98
19,154
13,851
17,391
51,635
1998-99
20,754
14,534
19,184
54,473
1999-2000
24,219
14,179
19,254
57,652
(a) Reference year for these chain volume measures is 1998-99.
(b) Chain volume measures are not additive for most periods; the component measures do not sum to a total in the same way as the corresponding current price components do.

Source: Building Activity, Australia (8752.0); Engineering Construction Activity, Australia (8762.0).


Graph 20.4 shows the data from table 20.3 in a longer time series. It shows the decline in the value of residential construction from mid-1995, followed by a steady recovery from about mid-1997 accelerating to record levels ahead of the introduction of The New Tax System in July 2000. Engineering construction has grown steadily over the past 10 years.






Graph 20.5 shows that construction activity for the public sector has remained relatively constant at around $15b annually over the last ten years. The volatility evident in the total construction series is mainly due to private sector construction activity. The growth in total construction activity from June 1997 until June 2000 was driven by the growth in private sector activity.





More detailed information on the value of residential and non-residential building work done, in chain volume terms, is presented in table 20.6. The value of building work done rose by $3,109m (9%) to $38,398m in 1999-2000, following a rise of 10% in 1998-99. The 1999-2000 growth was most heavily influenced by the surge in new houses (contributing some 78% of the annual growth). Non-residential construction activity fell by $356m.


20.6 BUILDING ACTIVITY, Value of Work Done by Type of Activity, Chain Volume Measures(a)
New residential building

Houses

$m
Other residential
buildings

$m
Total

$m
Alterations and
additions to
residential buildings

$m
Non-residential
building

$m
Total
building(b)

$m
1991-92
9,801
2,687
12,548
2,234
11,998
26,717
1992-93
11,266
3,595
14,919
2,370
10,768
28,149
1993-94
12,176
4,216
16,441
2,508
10,356
29,501
1994-95
12,006
4,932
16,947
2,732
11,253
31,106
1995-96
9,585
4,069
13,654
2,633
12,637
28,916
1996-97
9,483
4,021
13,504
2,632
13,785
29,863
1997-98
11,386
4,700
16,090
3,063
13,851
33,001
1998-99
12,090
5,415
17,505
3,249
14,535
35,289
1999-2000
14,510
6,030
20,540
3,679
14,179
38,398
(a) Reference year for chain volume measures is 1998-99.
(b) Chain volume measures are generally not additive; for most periods the component measures do not sum to a total in the same way as the corresponding current price components do.

Source: Building Activity, Australia (8752.0).



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