WASHINGTON – Architecture firms reported increasing demand for design services in June, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Nationally, all four major sectors of architecture work showed growth in their three-month moving averages. Geographically, activity was strongest in the West and Midwest, the South grew and the Northeast saw a decrease.
The ABI score for June was 53.2 for the nation. While this score is down slightly from May’s score of 53.5, it still indicates moderately strong business conditions overall (any score above 50 indicates an increase in architecture firm billings from the prior month). Also in June, both the new project inquiries and design contracts indexes moderated from May but continued to show growth, posting scores of 58.2 and 52.2 respectively.
“Ongoing project activity at architecture firms as well as new work coming online remains strong, pushing project backlogs up to seven months on average nationally,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “In spite of heavy workloads, employment at architecture firms has stabilized, suggesting that adding new employees is becoming even more challenging as the building construction sector continues to recover.”
Key ABI highlights for June architecture work include this:
Regional averages: West (57.8); Midwest (54.8); South (51.5); Northeast (48.7)
Sector index breakdown: institutional (53.5); mixed practice (52.8); multifamily residential (52.6); commercial/industrial (52.5)
The regional and sector architecture categories are calculated as a three-month moving average, whereas the national index, design contracts and inquiries are monthly numbers.
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