Activity Continues to Trend Up...Slightly

The Architectural Billing Index rose nearly two points in July, ending a two month slide. The ABI is a leading economic indicator, generally reflecting a nine to twelve month lag between architecture billings and construction activity. The July ABI score was 47.9, up from 46.0 the previous month.

The West continued to trail the rest of the nation, coming in at 45.2, with the Midwest at 46.7, the Northeast at 47.2 and the South at 47.9. The New Projects Inquiry Index dropped from 57.7 to 53.1, indicating that slower times are again on the horizon.

Locally the discussion has centered around the quantity of RFPs that are currently on the street. Everyone I speak with on the dealer side and/or A&D side are busy answering RFPs. Whether or not those RFPs actually move forward once they are awarded is a completely separate question.

Where Have I Been?: Yes my blogging has been a bit sporadic lately, but summer is over, and it is back to the grindstone!