Construction activity in Ireland fell for the third month in-a-row in July.
That’s according to the latest AIB Purchasing Managers' Index.
The latest report found that activity fell in two of the three categories covered by the report - housing and civil engineering.
The remaining category, the commercial sector, saw activity increase for the sixth month in a row, but at a modest pace.
The headline index dropped to 47.1 in July, down from 48.6 the previous month.
The rate of input cost inflation quickened from June and was faster than the series average.
Meanwhile, the lengthening of suppliers' delivery times was the most pronounced in three months amid staff shortages at vendors and the need to wait for products to be made.
Business confidence meanwhile dropped to the lowest since November 2022.
As a result, firms scaled back their purchasing activity, but continued to take on extra staff.
While new orders increased, panellists often mentioned that activity had fallen as work was put on hold amid delays in decision making.
"The new orders component, which is viewed as being a leading indicator, expanded for the sixth month in-a-row, although the pace of growth was slower compared to June," said John Fahey, AIB Senior Economist.
"Alongside the on-going expansion in new orders, construction firms continued to increase their staffing levels, lengthening the current period of growth to five months, with the pace of increase representing an improvement versus June.
"Construction sector firms maintained an optimistic outlook that activity levels would increase over the coming 12 months, although this level of sentiment was at its weakest since 2022," said Mr Fahey.
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