Builder blog

Current events and commentary regarding the construction industry. Opinions are my own.
Justin Reginato, Ph.D.
  • About
  • Builder Blog
  • Tacos & Tower Cranes
  • In the News
  • For CM Students

BOOM! Big Jump in the Architectural Billing Index!

6/23/2014

0 Comments

 
Despite my love of my favorite economic indicator, the AIA's Architectural Billings Index (ABI), I'm a bit late blogging about it (I blame the World Cup--I've been distracted). What matters is that the figures for May are up sharply to 52.5 from 49.6 in April. The details are below (any value greater than 50 means that architecture billings are increasing; conversely, any value less than 50 means billings are decreasing):

Regional (three month) Averages for May 2014:
  • Northeast: 47.6 (up strongly from 42.9 in April but still below 50)
  • South: 58.1 (versus 57.5 in April; the South has been strong for a while)
  • Midwest: 51.3 (versus 47.0 in April, a strong move to the expansion side of the spectrum)
  • West: 46.9 (versus 48.9 in April, the only regional decline)

This is the West's second month of declines, which troubles me. The West has been hot for a while, so we'll see if the declines have legs. Everything is cyclical, and as I've said in the past, there are still regions in the West that are booming (SF/SJ Bay Area, etc.).

Sector Averages for May 2014:
  • Multi-family Residential: 58.2 (versus 52.6 in April; this sector has been leading the ABI for some time)
  • Commercial/Industrial: 53.6 (versus 50.2 in April, an nice positive move)
  • Mixed Practice: 50.4 (versus 50.7 in April)
  • Institutional: 47.3 (versus 47.1 in April)

The Inquiry Index is at 63.2 for May, up from 59.1 in April and 57.9 in March. This is correlated to more good news going forward. Hopefully these ABI figures, along with other construction economic indicators, shows the industry is ready to break out.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    July 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    Economics
    Real Estate
    Technology

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • About
  • Builder Blog
  • Tacos & Tower Cranes
  • In the News
  • For CM Students