NZ concrete production jumped 20pc in Q3 - Stats NZ

Concrete production was up sharply in the third quarter, but is expected to level off. Photo / 123RF

Stats NZ said the volume of ready-mixed concrete produced was 1.2 million cubic metres in the September quarter, up 20 per cent compared with the Covid-impacted September 2021 quarter.

In the September year, 4.8 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete was produced, up 8.7 per cent year-on-year.

Seasonally adjusted, the volume of ready-mixed concrete fell 1.2 per cent in the September quarter, following a 2.2 per cent fall in the June quarter.

Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said the level of concrete pouring remained at a high level but over the past year or so had effectively been tracking sideways.

“That’s consistent with what we are seeing in construction,” Ranchhod said.

“We have a lot of work in the pipeline but we are running into constraints, so it is not pushing higher.”

Ranchood said construction activity looked to be flattening off now.

“Construction activity is not weak, but we are not seeing the charge higher that we saw when we came out of the pandemic,” he said.

“We have those challenging cost pressures that are going to put the brakes on activity.”