Archinect - News

Architecture billings up for 8th consecutive month

2013-04-25T17:22:00-04:00

In March, the American Institute of Architects’ Architecture Billings Index marked its eighth consecutive month of growth in the demand for architectural design services. While the national score of 51.9 is down three full points from February’s score of 54.9, the architecture industry is still seeing continued strength nationwide, and across all regions and industry sectors.

Architecture Billings Up for Seventh Consecutive Month

2013-03-20T13:57:00-04:00

In February, the American Institute of Architects’ Architecture Billings Index marked its seventh consecutive month of growth in the demand for architectural design services. With a national score of 54.9, up from January’s score of 54.2, the architecture industry is seeing continued strength and a higher rate of growth of billings than it has seen since the bubble burst five years ago. (A score above 50.0 in the index means that demand is increasing.)

Strong Surge for Architecture Billings Index

2013-02-21T03:11:00-05:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the January ABI score was 54.2, up sharply from a mark of 51.2* in December. This score reflects a strong increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 63.2, much higher than the reading of 57.9 the previous month.

Fifth Consecutive Month of Gains in ABI

2013-01-23T11:40:00-05:00

“While it’s not an across the board recovery, we are hearing a much more positive outlook in terms of demand for design services,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “Moving into 2013 we are expecting this trend to continue and conditions improve at a slow and steady rate. That said, we remain concerned that continued uncertainty over the outcomes of budget sequestration and the debt ceiling could impact further economic growth.”

Demand for Architects Builds Momentum

2012-12-19T02:17:00-05:00

There are few professionals more hopeful for a bright future this holiday season than architects, who are finally starting to see business conditions improve. Billings at architecture firms have been depressed for the past four years, another victim of the real-estate and housing downturn. But in recent months, that has started to change.

Architecture billings rise for fifth straight month

2012-11-21T14:19:00-05:00

After declining earlier in 2012, the billings index began to turn higher in June, then accelerated, and has now marked its third straight month above the 50 level, which indicates expanding demand for architects' services. "It's beginning to look like demand for design services has turned the corner," said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker.

aia billings index in positive territory...

2012-09-27T16:25:00-04:00

"After a four-month skid, billings at U.S. architecture firms edged up very modestly in August with an ABI score of 50.2, indicating minor growth in design billings. Inquiries for new project activity also improved, showing its strongest gain since the first quarter of the year."

as a contributor to the aia's monthly Architectural Billings Index, it's always interesting to see how this indicator pans out. for August, apparently, it was pretty well - it's the first time in a while since we've crossed the Mendoza line (a number above 50).

if you're looking to this to help gauge where to look for work, this month's survey offers the following:

"With a score of 51.2, firms in the West reported their first monthly increase in billings in five years, offering the possibility that firms in this region may finally be working their way out of the downturn. Conversely, firms in the Northeast and Midwest reported weak conditions in August, after reporting generally positive conditions over the past year. Also, firms specializing in the institutional sector reported only their third monthly increase in the past 18 months. Residential firms saw healthy gains, providing further evidence that the residential construction sector is in recovery while commercial/indust...

ABI Inches Back into Positive Territory

2012-09-19T22:56:00-04:00

On the heels of a nearly three-point increase, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) climbed into positive terrain for the first time in five months... The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the August ABI score was 50.2, up from the mark of 48.7 in July. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services. The new projects inquiry index was 57.2, up from mark of 56.3 the previous month.

U.S. architecture billings index rebounds in July

2012-08-23T15:36:00-04:00

The architecture billings index rose 2.8 points to 48.7 last month, the highest since March, the American Institute of Architects said on Wednesday. The billings index, which measures demand for architects' services, helps predict construction activity nine to 12 months ahead. Any measure below 50 indicates a decline in billings.

Architecture Billings Nosedive in May

2012-06-20T14:44:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) monthly Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped significantly last month. Nationwide architecture work had begun to contract in April, but sunk by a considerable amount more in May. The May ABI score was 45.8, down from an already contracting 48.4 in April. Inquiries for new projects also dropped, from 54.4 to 54.0, the lowest score in a year.

Architecture Billings Slip Back in April

2012-05-16T20:16:40-04:00

After five months of positive readings, the Architecture Billings Index slipped back into negative territory during April, an indication that demand for design services declined. The score for April was 48.4, compared with 50.4 in March.

Using the ABI as an economic indicator

2012-03-29T19:40:00-04:00

... the ABI is a pretty good leading indicator of non-residential construction levels a year or so down the track. It’s often not a bad indicator of broader economic conditions either. For example, the index’s low of late 2008 came a little before U.S. stocks’ post-crisis nadir in March 2009. It’s been on a general uptrend ever since. As have stocks. There’s a crumb of good news, here, then, because the ABI has now been rising for four straight months.

The WSJ's "The Source" discusses how the Architecture Billing Index can be used as a fairly accurate economic indicator, comparable to the oft-used Baltic Dry Index.