Design Billings Increase Finally

Courtesy of AIA

Assuming the ABI scores do not significantly fall back in the coming months, a recovery in design billings signifies an impending recovery in construction activity, according to Kermit Baker, AIA Chief Economist. AIA research on the historical performance of this index indicates that the ABI leads nonresidential construction spending on average by about nine to 12 months.

There might be a construction recovery in the latter part of 2011, with an upturn in construction starts later this year. Although the recovery process has been slow, that's welcome news for landscape professionals.

Construction payrolls also declined in September, losing another 21,000 positions. This brings the total construction losses to 92,000 for the first nine months of the year. Payrolls at architecture firms dropped a bit in August, the most recent month available, but still are up from their current low in March of this year.

- Courtesy of AIA