(03-21-18)
With an Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 52.0 in February, business conditions at architecture firms remained strong for the month, although billings grew at a modestly slower pace than in January (any score over 50 indicates an increase in architecture firm billings).
Firm billings have now increased for the last five consecutive months and 11 months out of the last year. Inquiries into new projects and the value of new signed design contracts both increased in February, as firms remain generally optimistic about future work in the pipeline. Business conditions remained strong at architecture firms located in all regions of the country except the Northeast in February, with firms located in West reporting the strongest conditions for that region in more than a decade. Firms located in the Northeast, on the other hand, saw their billings decline for the third consecutive month. Architecture firm billings increased at firms of all specializations in February; firms with a residential specialization continuing to report the strongest growth, as they have for the last five months.