Civil engineering contractors in the North East could face a tough year despite a successful 2007. The Civil Engineering Contractors Association’s North East branch said the credit crunch would hit their region particularly hard because of the lack of major road building in the area. Responding to the results from the association’s own survey on predictions for this year, director Douglas Kell said rising costs and new regulations on who can use ‘red’ fuel would ‘impact on almost every area of civils work’.