According to a report from the Portuguese Construction Industry Federation (Fepicop), the local sector continues to underperform, with concrete consumption dropping 25.2% in 2013 up to October year-on-year.
Fepicop represents 9,000 companies operating in the construction sector, and it says that the concrete drop was impacted by a lack of construction projects in the country, both in the public and private sectors.
Usage rates point to the worst performance of the last 40 years, and in 2012, concrete consumption dropped 27% to 3.329 million tonnes.
Some 1,065 projects approved until October are valued at €775.8 million, a 27.8% decrease from the €1 billion of 2012.
Regarding employment, the segment was responsible for 288,900 jobs during the third-quarter of 2013, down 18.8% in comparison with the same period of 2012. This represents 66,800 less jobs.
