AIA billings index sounds a positive note

The AIA’s Architectural Billings Index took a nearly three-point jump in August, climbing into positive territory for the first time in five months. The ABI hit 50.2, up from 48.7 in July. A score above 50 indicates an increase in architectural billings.

By region, the South showed greatest strength (52.2), followed by the West (51.2), the Northeast (45.5), and the Midwest (45.3).

Strong categories: multifamily residential (53.0), institutional (50.2), commercial/industrial (47.9), and mixed practice (46.8)

The so-called new projects index was at a relatively healthy 57.2, up from 56.3 the previous month. But AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA, cautions that design activity is likely to alternate between modest growth and modest decline for the foreseeable future. “Until the economy is on firmer ground, there aren’t likely to be strong increases in design services,” he says. +