“It is becoming difficult to anticipate”: the construction sector is concerned about a possible drop in public orders in Aveyron

Le manque de main-d’œuvre pourrait freiner l’activité des entreprises du BTP. Midi Libre – Maxime Cohen

Selon la FBTP, si les dernières années ont été plutôt favorables aux entreprises le manque de visibilité pourrait bien mettre à mal cette dynamique même en Aveyron, département jusqu’ici préservé.

In Aveyron, as elsewhere, construction industry players fear that the current economic situation, and in particular political instability, will slow down an already sluggish activity. Robert Hyronde, the secretary general of the FBTP, emphasizes: “30% of activity in construction depends on public orders. And we really need this order.”

While the government is urging local authorities to make savings, “we are therefore waiting to see more clearly in the coming weeks, the coming months. But we are pretty sure that the amount of the contracts will not necessarily increase”, concedes Robert Hyronde, who takes the example of the project to continue the route of the RN 88, which is struggling to be relaunched due to a lack of solid commitment from the State.

Capeb denounces a “programmed shipwreck for the craft industry”

“Despite a rather favorable macroeconomic environment (fall in key rates and inflation), the building industry has seen a decline in its activity, – 3.9% over the year”, deplores the Capeb (Confederation of Crafts and Small Building Companies).

“While order books are still two and a half months away, this visibility is mainly due to the reduction in companies' production capacities. Over the year, around 21,000 jobs have been eliminated. And intentions to lay off or not renew contracts are still on the rise and are higher than the share of companies planning to hire. As for cash flow, it is becoming more strained and bankruptcies are continuing to increase”, added the representatives of Capeb.

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For the confederation, “relying exclusively on new construction to respond to the housing crisis: an unfounded strategy”. “The Government has chosen to significantly cut the resources dedicated to MaPrimeRénov” to reduce government spending […] This is a political mistake that will worsen the already fragile situation of VSEs in the construction industry, which are largely involved in renovation.”

“It is becoming difficult to anticipate in this uncertain context,” says Jean-Baptiste Arcuri, the president of the FBTP in Aveyron. Companies could diversify their activities and find other outlets if they had a little more visibility.”

In the department, however, “we are still protected from the difficulties that can be felt at the national level, he says. But companies are still building on the achievements of the previous two years, which were rather good. We have visibility at least until the summer of 2025, or even a little later. But we are worried about what comes after.”

At the same time, households having regained a little more latitude in their financing possibilities, “We feel it in the order books, assures the secretary general of the FBTP. Especially since the price of building land remains as high as ever”.

Zero artificialization of soils

Above all, voices are being raised among construction industry players to denounce the so-called “zero artificialization of soils” law. As part of the “Resilience and Climate” law, France has set itself the goal of achieving “zero net artificialization of soils by 2050”. An objective to which is added the ambition of halving the “consumption” of natural spaces over the decade 2021-2031 compared to the previous decade.

Local elected officials regularly denounce this measure, considering it to be an obstacle to the development of their municipality. Moreover, during the last council of the Rodez agglomeration, Jean-Philippe Sadoul, the mayor of Luc-La Primaube, estimated that the application of this law could “pose a problem for the local economy. Because the needs of companies looking to set up are sometimes significant in terms of land”, and which also generate activity for construction companies. “We had moved in the right direction with the Barnier government, but today, everything has to be redone”, deplores Jean-Baptiste Arcuri.

Above all, the president of the FBTP wants to warn about the shortage of labor “in all trades” in the construction industry. The age pyramid in the sector remains rather high “and we are going to have many retirements in the years to come”, with the predictable consequence of “no longer being able to respond to certain orders due to not being able to find available staff”.

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