Architect billings back in reverse.The construction industry's recovery stalled again this month as the Architecture Billings Index (ABI Abi (ā`bī) [short for Abijah], in the Bible, King Hezekiah's mother. (Application Binary Interface) A specification for a specific hardware platform combined with the operating system. ) dropped to its lowest level since June. "While there have been occasional signs of optimism over the last few months, the overwhelming majority of architects are reporting that banks are extremely reluctant to provide financing for projects, and that new equity requirements and conservative appraisals are making it even more difficult for developers to get loans," said AIA AIA - Application Integration Architecture chief economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. "Until the anxiety within the financial community eases, these conditions are likely to continue." As a leading economic indicator leading economic indicator An economic or a financial variable that tends to move ahead of and in the same direction as general economic activity. Compare lagging economic indicator. See also index of leading economic indicators. of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending Construction Spending An economic indicator that measures the amount of spending towards new construction. Released monthly by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Census Bureau, it looks at residential and non-residential construction in the private sector, and state and federal at . The American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Organized in 1857, the Institute conducts various activities and programs to support the profession and enhance its public image, including periodically awarding the AIA (AIA) reported the August ABI rating was 41.7, down slightly from 43.1 in July. This score indicates a decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry score was 55.2. Regional averages in the ABI rating were: Northeast (45.2), South (44.1), Midwest (43.0), West (37.5), |
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