Conditions and outlook for the construction products industries: results of the AIMCC trends survey

24 of the 39 professional organizations surveyed responded, representing a response rate of 62%, distributed as follows: 46% structural work, 42% finishing work and 13% equipment.

Review of the year 2024: main results of the survey

Regarding the volume of activity in 2024 (production sold and not turnover) for products used in construction, compared to 2023: 96% of respondents have experienced a drop in activity in volume. 55% of them estimate the drop to be greater than -10%. Structural work is experiencing significant declines. The equipment manufacturer sector is experiencing declines by thirds in 3 segments of -1% to -20% and 2/3 of the second work is experiencing declines of between -1% and -10%.

The main obstacles to business activity in 2024 are due to insufficient demand but also to the consequences of increasing costs, including wage costs resulting from inflation.

In terms of workforce, despite the drop in activity, 64% of manufacturers have at least maintained the number of employees. The second work has overwhelmingly maintained its workforce. The structural work has been almost split between reduction (55%) and stagnation of workforce, while equipment is divided into thirds (increase / stabilization / reduction) according to their activities.

Challenges and prospects for 2025: main results of the survey

Regarding the opinion on the volume of activity (production sold and not turnover) in 2025 compared to 2024 for products used in construction, 79% of manufacturers anticipate a year of crisis with significant drops in activity in the three sectors. The structural work having suffered a very sharp drop in 2024 anticipates continuing on this path. The second work which was less impacted in 2024 predicts very sharp drops in 2025. The forecasts for equipment are disparate, depending on their nature.

For 35% of respondents, the main obstacle to activity in 2025 is still insufficient demand, while fears for 2024 related as much to financial constraints as to the drop in demand.

When asked what is your opinion on the evolution of the workforce of companies in your federation in 2025: half of the respondents plan to reduce their workforce. For the first time in many years, beyond the termination of temporary contracts and the use of partial activity, industries are considering resorting to the implementation of social plans. The most sought-after job profiles in 2025 are for almost half of the respondents those of technicians, as in 2024.

The main levers cited for developing the circular economy are recycling and then waste recovery, closely followed by resource savings. In terms of competitiveness, two-thirds of manufacturers consider their sector to be competitive.

Interestingly, environmental constraints are more often cited as a barrier to competitiveness outside the EU, but it is tax costs and regulation that harm intra-EU competitiveness.

The top 5 expectations of construction industry companies for 2025 are (in descending order): cost control, data ownership and exploitation, decarbonization, employee training, digital transformation.

AIMCC priorities and proposals for 2025

The AIMCC calls for the implementation of the announcements made by the Minister of Housing: the zero-rate loan throughout the territory for first-time buyers, the launch of work to reduce costs by simplifying urban planning and construction standards, the adaptation of the ZAN framework, the confirmation of the MaPrimeRénov' budget in 2025 (2,3 billion euros), the results of the flash mission to create a renovation and co-ownership bank and an envelope of 200 million euros for social landlords.

The AIMCC also calls for the application of the reduced VAT rate (5,5%) to all work, the implementation of greater budgetary and technical resources to develop efficient renovations in line with the SNBC, the extension without conditions of duration or resources of the zero-rate mutation advance loan (also called Renovation Advance Loan - PAR +) payable at the time of the sale of the property or the settlement of the estate and the reform of taxation to make rental investment more attractive.

The construction product industries have been investing massively for several years and innovating, both in terms of products and processes, as well as organizations to lead the sector to successfully change through the decarbonization of products, structures and uses, the adaptation of buildings and neighborhoods to climate change, the development of the circular economy and the optimization of construction costs.

The economic and ecological challenges of the sector can, however, only be effectively addressed with the support of public authorities in a certain number of essential areas. The AIMCC is already very mobilized on this subject in a context where the application of the new Construction Product Regulation will generate additional costs with questions still pending. The professional organization proposes:

• Housing: develop a shared vision of territorial housing needs and implement a multi-year plan.
• Renovate: develop a multi-year energy renovation plan for buildings.
• Realism: adopt realistic regulations.
• Investment: continue to support decarbonization investments, and make decarbonized electricity and energy available at competitive prices.
• Sovereignty: strengthening France’s industrial sovereignty with a European carbon border.
• Train: promote opportunities and careers and develop training.
• Co-construct: enabling the intensification of research programs.
• Innovate: support the innovation projects of the Strategic Sector Committee (CSF).

With the contribution of CSF Industries for construction

The CSF IPC hopes that in 2025 the State will be able to commit alongside it to the implementation of the RENOBATI program and more broadly to that of its R&D and Innovation roadmap, which is currently being drafted and is mobilizing more than 50 players in the sector: industries, research organizations, architects, large construction companies.

This roadmap aims to define innovation priorities, while contributing to major national objectives: industrial sovereignty, environment, living environment and housing. With three ambitions for the sector: developing a decarbonized industry with controlled costs, improving the energy performance and resilience of buildings, reducing the material footprint with frugal design and integrating the circular economy.

The RENOBATI program aims to massify the comprehensive and efficient renovation of buildings and structure efficient renovation sectors, through territorial aggregation strategies for buildings to be renovated, through the mobilization of communities (inter-municipalities) and the support of the Regions, starting with the Occitanie and Grand-Est Regions, and support for the engineering of renovation projects, the training of professional actors and experiments with technical and organizational innovations.

For Philippe Gruat, president of the AIMCC: "Faced with the new drop in activity and the multiple challenges that manufacturers will still face in 2025, our first priority will be to support their activity, by demanding that the public authorities implement their announcements to promote a policy of reviving new buildings and the massification of large-scale renovations allowing significant gains in building performance. We call for solidarity from the entire sector because it is through dialogue and exchanges that our sector will be able to get through this difficult period. Our second priority will be to continue to develop the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of manufacturers, in a context where fears relate as much to financial constraints as to the drop in demand. Our ambition in 2025 will also be to continue to accelerate the ecological transition, the circular economy and the digital transformation of the sector and to support, alongside the CSF IPC, the R&D and Innovation roadmap, to develop a decarbonized industry with controlled costs, and the RENOBATI program, to mass the global and efficient renovation of buildings.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.