When devising their medium and long-term strategies, companies need forecasts on the building sector’s outlook and its impact on the use of materials.

It is to meet this need that the Institute, which specialises in economic and business forecasting and modelling, has developed a set of sophisticated statistical tools (econometric models tested on yearly data) suited to the building and public works and materials sectors allowing it to produce activity forecasts for the different stages in the building industry on a regular basis.

These forecasts, intended for all of the sector’s participants (construction companies, builders’ merchants, materials manufacturers, etc.), lead to two publications a year that bring together two distinct sets of information:

• - Prospects for activity in the building sector
  
  
• - Sales forecasts for the different families of materials
  

1- Summary of the building sector activity file

I – THE BUILDING AND PUBLIC WORKS SECTOR: overview

• Trends in the building and public works sector's determinants in the period between 2005-2008
  
• Government expenditure on building and public works
  
• Housing financing
  
• Households’ and companies’ investment spending
  
• Building and public works sector trends in the period between 2005-2008
  
• Overall trend in the sector
  
• Activity by type of work
  
• Prices and costs
  
  

II – THE NEW HOUSING MARKET IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN 2005-2008

• Comprehensive analysis of the new building sector
  
• Single-family dwellings
  
• Multi-family dwellings
  
  

III – THE BUSINESS PREMISES MARKET

• Company premises
  
• Public service buildings

2- Summary of the material X sales file

I – REMINDER OF TRENDS IN THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN 2005-2008

• Economic environment trends
  
• Building and public works sector activity forecasts for the period between 2005-2008
  
  

II – DELIVERIES OF MATERIAL X

• Main determinant trends
  
• Delivery forecasts for the period between 2005-2008