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Recent Downturn in Architecture Firm Billings Accelerates July data reveals fourth monthly decline in ABI By Jennifer Riskus |
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Even before the debt ceiling agreement, the historic downgrading of the U.S. credit rating, and the resulting wild stock market gyrations, the current down trend in billings at architecture firms had already started to accelerate. In July, the AIA Architecture Billings Index (ABI) declined for the fourth month in a row, falling to 45.1. What’s in store for the U.S. economy–and the architecture profession–in the upcoming months is still very unclear. In a little bit of good news, inquiries for new design activity have continued to improve modestly in July, indicating that new projects are still under consideration. However, the value of new design contracts softened, so many of these inquiries are not translating into signed projects. Business conditions are declining at firms in all regions of the country. The weakest score (44.9) was recorded for firms in the Midwest, which had previously reported seven months of growth in late 2010 through early 2011. Firms located in the West are in the midst of the most protracted downturn, now stretching to four years without an increase in billings. |
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