Business Conditions at Architecture Firms Continue Downward Trend Per Latest ABI
The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index for August is out and the gist of the latest data is stubbornly unchanged. With a score of 47.2, business conditions at architecture firms nationwide remain weak although billings did experience a slight improvement from the previous ABI, which reported a score of 46.2 (any score below 50.0 indicates decreasing business conditions at firms).
Image courtesy American Institute of Architects.
Billings have now been in negative territory for 32 of the last 34 months and, notably, the value of new design contracts fell for the 18th consecutive month in August, marking the longest decline in 15 years of data collection. As the AIA notes, many firms are will likely face a slump in billings in the months to come due to limited work in the pipeline.
Image courtesy American Institute of Architects
“While business conditions remained soft at architecture firms nationally, there are signs that the downturn may be bottoming out,” remarked AIA chief economist Kermit Baker. “Inquiries for new projects have increased four straight months, and billings both at firms with a multifamily or commercial/industrial specialization are beginning to stabilize.”
Image courtesy American Institute of Architects
Looking at regional averages, the South, Midwest, Northeast, and West all scored under 50.0—a trend unchanged from the previous ABI. Some slight improvements can be found in the sector index breakdown with firms specializing in commercial/industrial projects breaking out of the negative realm with a score of 50.8, an improvement from the July score of 49.9. Meanwhile, the institutional sector continued to fall (47.9 down to 44.4) while multifamily residential did see signs of life, climbing from a July score of 43.7 to 49.9 in August. Mixed-practice firms (firms that do not have at least half of their billings in any one other category) scored 43.3.
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