AIA’s monthly Architecture Billings Index rose in September, posting a score of 47.0, up 7.0 points from August’s score of 40.0. 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.
“Despite the multi-family residential sector showing signs of improvement, overall business conditions are recovering at a disappointingly slow pace,” said AIA chief economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, in the Institute’s press release. “Other sectors may begin to stabilize in the coming months, but across the board improvement shouldn’t be expected until the economic impact of the pandemic subsides significantly.” New project inquiries increased measurably from 51.6 in August to 57.2 in September, and design contracts increased slightly from 46.0 in August to 48.9 in September.
The month-to-month change in scores for regional billings—which, unlike the national score, are calculated as three-month moving averages—improved in August, with all four regions continuing to report scores below the threshold of 50. Billings in the Midwest rose 3.9 points to a score of 45.6, while billings in the South rose 2.1 points to a score of 43.7. Billings in the West rose 4.3 points to a score of 45.6, while billings in the Northeast increased 7.6 points to a score of 41.5.
Billings score mildly improved in all four individual industry sectors with one score notably rising above the threshold of 50.0. The commercial/industrial sector rose 7.8 points to a score of 43.3; the institutional sector rose 0.3 point to a score of 40.5. The multifamily residential score rose 4.6 points to a score of 54.0; the mixed practice sector rose by 5.4 points to 47.3. Like the regional billings scores, sector billings scores are also calculated as three-month moving averages.