U.S. Architecture Firms’ Billing Index Rose in Aug.

Billings at U.S. architecture firms rose in Aug. according to the American Institute of Architects.

Billings at architecture firms, tracked by the Work-on-the-Boards survey, rose to 51.4 in Aug. from 45.1 a month earlier. The inquiry index, which tracks a firms capacity to take on additional work, rose to 56.9. A score above 50 indicates an increase in billings while a reading below 50 indicates a negative outlook.

Commercial building construction typically follows the billings index by about six months. Following is a table compiled from the American Institute of Architects billings index:

===========================================================================
                     Aug.   July   June    May  April  March   Feb.   Jan.
                     2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011
===========================================================================
Billings Index       51.4   45.1   46.3   47.2   47.6   50.5   50.6   50.0
  Monthly change      6.3   -1.2   -0.9   -0.4   -2.9   -0.1    0.6   -3.8
Inquiry Index        56.9   53.7   58.1   52.6   55.0   58.7   56.4   56.5
  Monthly change      3.2   -4.4    5.5   -2.4   -3.6    2.3   -0.1   -5.1
===========================================================================
                     Aug.   July   June    May  April  March   Feb.   Jan.
                     2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011
===========================================================================
Northeast            46.5   47.0   46.6   47.7   49.8   50.4   49.0   49.8
Midwest              49.0   48.0   44.3   45.9   48.5   51.8   54.8   55.3
South                47.4   47.4   47.0   47.5   47.9   49.1   49.6   51.3
West                 47.4   48.3   48.9   49.5   49.6   48.8   49.5   48.5
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Residential          44.8   45.8   47.0   51.7   53.1   52.4   50.5   52.3
Industrial           46.0   48.8   47.1   49.2   48.4   52.3   54.1   55.5
Institutional        48.5   47.6   46.8   45.2   46.0   46.6   48.6   50.2
Mixed                50.9   50.0   49.7   48.8   48.4   47.7   49.9   50.0
===========================================================================
Note: Regional and Sector data is a 3-month rolling average; data is 
seasonally adjusted.

SOURCE: American Institute of Architects

To contact the reporter on this story: Kristy Scheuble in Washington at kmckeaney@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Marco Babic at mbabic@bloomberg.net