NATIONAL NEWS - The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped to a historic low in January following a modest uptick in December. Because there is typically a nine- to 12-month lag between an architect billing a developer and that developer spending money on construction, the billings index is considered a leading economic indicator of nonresidential construction activity.
Scores above 50 indicate that, on average, billings increased in a region or practice area for the previous three months. The American Institute of Architects, which compiles the index using a monthly "Work-on-the-Boards" survey, calculated January's overall ABI rating as 33.3, down from the 34.1 mark in December.
The numbers show a rapidly deteriorating situation. By comparison, when the economic crisis first hit its full stride in September, the national ABI rating stood at 41.4, down sharply from the 47.6 mark in August.
For the south region, which includes the Washington area, the January score was 34.4, compared to 35.5 for December. In September, the south region's score stood at 44.1.
Billings for some practice areas are holding up better than others. While multifamily residential billings are clocking in at 29.5, institutional billings are faring better at 37.1.
The institute is eyeing the recently signed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in hopes it will provide a much needed boost to the architecture industry. "Now that the stimulus bill has passed and includes funding for construction projects, as well as for municipalities to raise bonds, business conditions could improve," said Kermit Baker, the institute's chief Economist. "That said, until we can get a clearer sense of credit lines being made available by banks, it will be hard to gauge when a lot of projects that have been put on hold can get back online."
Source: Washington Business Journal