AIA’s monthly Architecture Billings Index remained positive in June, coming in at 57.1, which is 1.4 points lower than May’s ABI of 58.5. The ABI is a leading economic indicator of construction activity in the U.S. and reflects a nine- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending nationally, regionally, and by project type. A score above 50 represents an increase in billings from the previous month, while a score below 50 represents a contraction.
The design contracts score also remained positive at 58.9, falling 4.3 points from its record-breaking score of 63.2 in May. New project inquiries remained strong, rising 2.6 points from May’s score of 69.2 to reach a score of 71.8. “With the current pace of billings growth near the highest levels ever seen in the history of the index, we’re expecting a sharp upturn in nonresidential building activity later this year and into 2022,” said AIA chief economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, in the Institute’s press release. “However, as is often the case when market conditions make a sudden reversal, concerns are growing about architecture firms not being able to find enough workers to meet the higher workloads. Nearly six in 10 firms report that they are having problems filling open architectural staff positions.”
The month-to-month change in scores for regional billings—which, unlike the national score, are calculated as three-month moving averages—remained in positive territory in June, although three out of four regional billing scores decreased from their May values. Billings in the Midwest fell 1.4 points to a score of 62.0, while billings in the West rose 2.3 points to a score of 59.7. Billings in the South decreased 1.7 points to a score of 57.3, and billings in the Northeast fell 1.0 point to a score of 53.2.
Billings scores remained strong, with all four industry sectors also reporting scores above the threshold of 50 and two out of four scores rising. The commercial/industrial sector rose 0.4 point to a score of 61.0; the institutional sector rose 0.2 point to a score of 57.3. The multifamily residential score fell 1.6 points to a score of 57.9, and the mixed practice sector fell 1.5 points to a score of 56.4. Like the regional billings scores, sector billings scores are also calculated as three-month moving averages.