AIA Billings Index Remains Flat in July; Future Contracts Data Softens

Industry News / Market Forecast

August 22, 2019

AIA Billings Index Remains Flat in July; Future Contracts Data Softens

The AIA Billings Index, which tracks demand for design services, increased in July to 50.1, up from 49.1 in June.

“Although the ABI score of 50.1 for the month technically indicates growth,” AIA reported, “the score is barely above 50, which means that the share of firms that reported increasing firm billings for the month is just slightly higher than the share that reported decreasing billings.”

The monthly survey also revealed a softness among the indicators of future work, with the score for the value of new design contracts declining to 49.0 in July. This is one of the lowest scores in the nine years that the AIA has tracked this data.

On a regional basis, July billings softened everywhere but in the West, and of all the tracked practice sectors, only multifamily residential strengthened.

“The data is not the same as what we saw leading up to the last economic downturn but the continued, slowing across the board will undoubtedly impact architecture firms and the broader construction industry in the coming months,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “A growing number of architecture firms are reporting that the ongoing volatility in the trade situation, the stock market, and interest rates are causing some of their clients to proceed more cautiously on current projects.”

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