A new report from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) indicates architecture firms continued to report increasing demand for design services in September. The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for September was 56.6, which is up from August’s score of 55.6. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings from the prior month. In September, scoring for both the new project inquiries and design contracts moderated slightly but remained in positive, posting scores of 61.8 and 54.7 respectively.  

“The ABI scores over the last eight months continue to be among the highest ever seen in the immediate post-recession periods that have been captured throughout the index’s history,” said AIA chief economist, Kermit Baker, Ph.D. “However, it’s unlikely that revenue increases at architecture firms can sustain this pace. Given that growth in both new design contracts and project inquiries have moderated in recent months, we expect to see a similar path for the ABI.”