AIA Billings Index Declined but Remains Positive

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) released their Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for the month of November on Wednesday this week, reporting that the latest index is at the lowest point in the last seven months. The ABI score for November was 50.9, down 2.8 points from October’s score of 53.7. Note that the index is centered around 50, with scores above 50 indicating an aggregate increase in billings, and scores below 50 indicating a decline.

“Demand for design services has slowed somewhat from the torrid pace of the summer, but all project sectors are seeing at least modest growth,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “Architecture firms are expecting solid mid-single digit gains in revenue for 2014, but heading into 2015, they are concerned with finding quality contractors for projects, coping with volatile construction materials costs and with finding qualified architecture staff for their firms.”