Survival strategies

摘要

Building output has fallen for the fifth quarter in a row, the Office for National Statistics has reported. Output for the third quarter fell by 2.6 per cent on the previous three months, a shrinkage of about ￡lbn a month over the past six months. The bad news rumbles on, with analysts insisting the construction industry has been declining much faster than previously thought in past quarters. Put starkly, the total volume of construction output in the third quarter is the lowest since 1999. None ofthis will be any surprise to landscapers operating in the commercial sector experiencing continued downward pressure on prices as firms compete harder for fewer contracts. Nor will it be any surprise to those working in the domestic market where the ranks of competitors have been swelled thanks to the squeeze on commercial jobs. Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) chair Mark Gregory recently described the market as "very volatile". He told HW (26 October): "It's a buyers' market — pricing isaggressive and everything is price-driven. There is plenty of top-end work, but the bottom end of the market is in the doldrums."