Shrinking order books and rising economic uncertainty contributed to another steep decline in UK construction activity during May. At the same time, higher energy, fuel and transportation costs led to the fastest pace of input price inflation since June 2022. At 38.2 in May, down from 39.7 in April, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI®) – an index tracking changes in total industry activity – posted below the neutral 50.0 threshold for the seventeenth month running. Moreover, the rate of contraction was the steepest since May 2020. Aside from the drop in ... (full story)