Economic Importance
The construction industry accounts for 11% of total European GDP, of which just under a third i.e. 3.5%, is attributable to construction materials and building products. A study carried out in 1998 by the BIPE, a leading French consultant and a member of EUROCONSTRUCT, estimated total European sales of construction materials and building products at around 200 billion Euros. This figure does not include products bought by the public for "do-it-yourself" work. The study also estimated that construction materials and building products account for some 18-20% of EU manufacturing output.

Ten years later, distribution by country has slightly changed. The German market, in particular, has encountered an important decrease of activity followed by an improvement trend. The market has gone through a down cycle reaching the curve trough in 2000. The global European market remains however relatively stable. A more recent French study (Eurostaf - Le secteur des matériaux de construction en Europe - October 2003) shows that in the European Union, five countries represent nearly 80% of the construction material sector activity. The study mentions the following turnovers of the sector in those five countries in 2002 (in billions Euros): Germany: 49,25 - Italy: 39,12 - Spain: 35,00 - UK: 30,83 - France: 27,77

Social Importance
Construction accounts, directly and indirectly, for around 26 million jobs in the EU. Direct employment in the construction materials and building products industry is at around 2.5 million. People on average spend 80% of their time in buildings and when they are not in buildings they spend a lot of time travelling on roads. In Europe, over 20,000 different materials and products are used to construct the buildings and infrastructure which provide shelter, comfort and safety for us all.