WASHINGTON – The Architecture Billings Index (ABI), a leading indicator of U.S. construction activity, rose to 57.9 points in January from the 2006 high of 57.6 in December, according to the American Institute of Architects.
For the Northeast, the ABI rose to 76.0 points from December’s 69.7. (Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.)
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The AIA said it found positive conditions in all regions and market sectors in January, despite the U.S. Census Bureau’s report that January housing starts fell to their lowest level since 1997.
“You have to go back 26 months for the last negative score for the index,” said Kermit Baker, the group’s chief economist, said in a Jan. 21 statement. With a 9- to 12-month lag between architecture billings and construction spending, the forecast for the nonresidential market remains favorable for all of 2007, the AIA said.
“While the index was positive in 2006, it hovered around the break-even mark for much of the year,” Baker said. “So far, the last three months have seen much higher levels of demand for design services and [that] is likely to translate into sustained levels of high activity in the construction industry.
The ABI is produced by the AIA Economics & Market Research Group based on a monthly survey. Additional information is available at www.aia.org.
