Design Billings Inch Into Recovery Mode

Courtesy of AIA

After the most severe downturn in construction-related design activity in several generations, architecture firms may finally be heading for a recovery, according to Kermit Baker, AIA Chief Economist. AIA Architecture Billings Index (ABI) registered a score of 50.4 for September. Any score above 50 signifies growth at U.S. architecture firms, and the September score is the first reading above 50 since January 2008.

Additionally, firms in two of the four major regions of the country reported growth for September. In the Northeast, the billings score was 56.7-firmly on the growth side of the ledger. Firms in the Midwest showed more modest growth with a score of 51, the second straight month that billings have grown in that region.

- Courtesy of AIA