AIA/Deltek Releases Latest Architecture Billings Index

Business conditions remain soft at architecture firms in June with the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index reporting a score of 46.4. Any score below 50 indicates that billings decline, although somewhat fewer firms reported a decline in billings in June than in May.

Indicators of future work remained generally soft as well:

• Only slightly more than half of the responding firms reported an increase in inquiries into new work.
• Firms reported a third consecutive month of decline in value of newly signed design contracts.
• While many firms still have a healthy backlog of projects in the pipeline, 6.4 months on average, this is the smallest that backlogs have been in more than three years.

Key ABI highlights for June include:

• Regional averages: Northeast (52.2); Midwest (40.9); South (43.9); West (43.1)
• Sector index breakdown: commercial/industrial (42.0); institutional (44.3); mixed practice (firms that do not have at least half of their billings in any one other category) (46.9); multifamily residential (45.1)
• Project inquiries index: 51.6
• Design contracts index: 45.6

The regional and sector categories are calculated as three-month moving averages and may not always average out to the national score.

Visit AIA’s website for more information.