Dive Brief:

• The Architectural Billings Index dipped slightly to 53.1 in October, down from 53.7 in September, the American Institute of Architects reported Wednesday. Although the score is down, it still points to an increase in design services, as any score of 50 or higher indicates increased billings.
• The new projects inquiry index fell to 58.5, down from a score of 61.0 in September. Regionally, the South once again scored the highest index score of 56.2. The West came in second with a score of 54.4, and the Midwest and Northeast took third and fourth places with scores of 52.6 and 49.2 respectively.
• The commercial/industrial sector scored 55.1, mixed practice was at 54.9, multifamily residential at 52.5 and institutional scored 51.4. Additionally, the project inquiries index was 58.5, and the design contracts index was 51.7.

Dive Insight:

The ABI is considered a leading economic indicator of coming construction activity, reflecting the nine-to-12 month lead-time between architect billings and the beginning of construction. The national project inquiries and design contract indexes are monthly numbers; however, the regional and sector figures are calculated as a three-month moving average.

This month’s scores, according to the AIA, confirm increasing levels of demand for architectural and design services for almost all construction project types for most of the year. AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said the multifamily project sector has improved the last two months after trending downward for much of the year.

"Allowing for the possibility of occasional and minor backsliding, we expect healthy business conditions for the design and construction industry to persist moving into next year," Baker said.