The construction works index in Croatia remained constant on an annual basis in Q2, according to statistics office data released on August 31. The index had advanced by 3.6% y/y in Q1, after a moderate 2.7% y/y growth last year.
Civil engineering works keep loosing ground, while the overall growth is entirely supported by the construction of buildings.
The 12-month rolling average construction works volume advanced by 2.7% y/y, remaining within the 2.4%-3% y/y band for the eighth month in a row. On a broader perspective, the construction volume bottomed out in 2015 but is gaining slowly ground while remaining some 45% below the pre-crisis (2008) levels.
The volume of civil engineering works contracted by 4.5% y/y in Q2, after a nearly flat performance in Q1 (+0.6% y/y). Last year, the volume of civil engineering works contracted by 2.5% y/y. The annual decline of the 12-month rolling civil engineering works has never turned positive since 2008, but it eased to below 2% y/y in March to June 2017.
In contrast, the construction of buildings advanced by 4.8% y/y in Q2, after the 6.5% y/y gain in Q1. The recovery trend in the building construction segment started in 2015, when the 12-month rolling index turned positive in November. The 12-month rolling growth rate maintained close to 9% y/y in October 2016 to January 2017 to slightly slow down later (to 7.2% y/y in June).