The AIA's Architecture Billings Index moved back into positive territory in January after two consecutive months of decline. Firms with a residential specialty led the growth with increased billings, followed by a slight uptick in the commercial/industrial sector. Public and institutional firms reported a decline for the fifth consecutive month.
Credit: American Institute of Architects

Architecture firm billings rebounded slightly in January after two months of declines to end 2013, according to the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) published by the American Institute of Architects.

The January score of 50.4, on an index where any score above 50 indicates billings growth, represents a very modest improvement, though it halts the index's decline since September. Inquiries into new projects remained strong, although the value of newly signed design contracts declined slightly in January, the first negative movement in a year.

Weakness from the fourth quarter of 2013 persisted into January for firms located in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the country, which may be partially due to inclement weather this winter, the AIA said. Firms in the South and West continued to experience growth in billings, as they have for the last year and a half, though the pace of growth for firms in the West has slowed in the last six months.

Firms with a residential specialization continued to experience increasing firm billings in January, reaching a 51.8 index score over a three-month average; firms with a commercial/industrial specialization also saw minimal growth, scoring a 50.9 over the same span after two months of modest declines. Firms with an institutional specialization scored a 46.5, indicating weaker business conditions for the fifth consecutive month, possibly due to projects delayed by the government shutdown last October that have not been restarted.