Specialist Contractors are operating at their lowest levels for over 10 years according to the latest National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC) State of Trade Survey.

In the first quarter of 2009, almost half of respondents were working at less than 75% capacity, which clearly shows the effect that the recessionary climate is having on the industry.

This has resulted in further falls in both the average number of employees and apprentices in the workplace with almost all Specialist Contractors being in a position to bid for work due to the widespread availability of skilled workers.

The majority of respondents to the survey continue to report a decline in both enquiries and orders, and a member of the Association of Concrete Industrial Flooring Contractors

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(ACIFC) summed up the concerns of many Specialist Contractors when he said that "contracts were simply being shelved due to lack of funding".

Payment problems are still seriously affecting businesses in the specialist sector with nearly a quarter of respondents regularly waiting more than 60 days for payment. Almost one third of retentions withheld from Specialist Contractors in the last quarter were overdue for payment at an average of over £50,000 per respondent.

According to NSCC this reinforces the need for their Fair Payment Campaign which has three key objectives for improving payment practices in the industry: certainty of payment, 30-day payment periods and the removal of retentions.

The NSCC State of Trade Survey continues to grow with the number of responses this quarter increasing by almost 120% compared with the previous quarter. From now on, NSCC will also be contributing its findings to the State of Trade Survey published by the Construction Products Association (CPA), enabling the experiences of the specialist sector to be compared with the wider industry.

(GK/JM)