The American Institute of Architects reported Wednesday that its Architecture Billings Index (ABI) held a score of 52 in December, the same score reached in November. The score indicates an overall increase in demand for design services, with any score over 50 indicating an increase in billing. The new projects inquiry is 64, down one point from 65 in November.
"We saw nearly identical conditions in November and December of 2010 only to see momentum sputter and billings fall into negative territory as we moved through 2011, so it's too early to be sure that we are in a full recovery mode," said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. "Nevertheless, this is very good news for the design and construction industry and it's entirely possible conditions will slowly continue to improve as the year progresses."
The ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending and is used as a strong economic indicator.