Correction: We have been contacted by Statistics NZ this morning who advise that there was a transposition error in the data they released for Auckland.
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The latest data for ready mix concrete production in New Zealand is now out for the December quarter of 2013.
And it shows some amazing trends.
In Christchurch where earthquake recovery work is starting to ramp up, concrete deliveries were up 28.3% in 2013 compared with the year earlier. In Q4, the rise was 27.7% above the same period in 2012.
In Wellington, 2013 concrete poured was 15% higher than the previous year.
In Auckland, 2013 volumes were up 16.4% and the December quarter rise was 14% above the same period a year ago.
There was considerable variation in other regions, with Otago and Southland recording 20% gains in the December quarter, while the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and the Hawkes Bay all recording declines.
But it is in Auckland where the really big gains are being seen.
In the December quarter of 2013, 268,000 m3 of ready mix concrete was poured into construction sites in the Queen City, 54% more than the same quarter in 2012.
Over the whole of 2013 in Auckland the rise was an impressive 27.1%.
While this was the most ever poured in a single quarter in both Auckland and Canterbury, it is no record for the country as a whole. More concrete was being poured in the 2003 to 2008 period.
Similarly for Auckland, 10% more concrete was poured in 2007 than 2013.
But the recovery in Auckland is nothing short of spectacular.
In Q4 2013 the rise was +35% from the previous quarter in the Auckland metropolitan area.
It was a +54% rise from the same quarter a year earlier.
And for the full year, 2013 was +27% higher than 2012.
With the housing accord set to require substantially more residential construction yet to deliver actual builds, and the recent substantial rise in Auckland building consents, (not to mention the start of the huge Waterview Connection project), these increases seem set to continue for a while yet.
Yet they will need to grow by another +10% to exceed the previous record levels.
None of this activity will lessen the GDP growth data for Q4 2013 which is due to be reported on March 20, 2014.
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