Growth Expectations for Post Pandemic Volumetric Building System Sector

While the pandemic has taken a toll on many sectors throughout the UK, our research has concluded that there’s potential in the volumetric building sector to grow in a post pandemic era.

Alex Blagden, editor of the report and researcher at Barbour ABI comments:

“The outlook for the volumetric building systems market remains difficult to predict given the lack of published data in this sector and the continued uncertainty.

Steady growth in this market was expected over the years and up till 2024. This is underpinned by the increasing use of off-site construction methods to help meet the chronic housing shortage and cope with the lack of traditional construction skills.”

Growth for this sector in 2019 was mostly down to:

• Strong demand for accommodation and temporary units
• Increasing levels of road building and maintenance activity
• A buoyant railway construction sector
• Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant programme
• And other infrastructure projects and housebuilding

Post Pandemic Volumetric Building System Growth Expectations

The Volumetric building systems sector was not however immune to the effects of the pandemic.

The market was expected to fall sharply in 2020 along with construction activity across all sectors, except for healthcare and infrastructure. Because these two have been less impacted than other end-use sectors, it is assumed demand for volumetric units here will partly offset the downturn elsewhere.

In the post pandemic the volumetric building sector has been expected to return to growth due to public sector procurement frameworks. Including an increase in system suppliers and the use of Building Information Modelling.