MNI: US Architecture Billings Index Rises To 55.0 In November

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The American Institute of Architects' Architecture

Billings Index rose to a reading of 55.0 in November from 51.7 in October,

reflecting solid growth in all categories, the AIA reported Wednesday.

     The ABI is a diffusion index, with any reading below 50 representing a

decline in billings and reading above 50 representing growth in billings.

     The AIA said that lag between the ABI and construction spending is about

nine to twelve months.                                                     

     The new projects inquiry index rose to 61.1 in November from 60.2 in

October. At the same time, the AIA's measure of design construction, which is

meant to provide an earlier signal of the direction of billings by bridging the

gap between inquiries and actual billings, rose slightly to 53.2 from 52.8 in

October. 

     "Not only are design billings overall seeing their strongest growth of the

year, the strength is reflected in all major regions and construction sectors,"

said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. "The construction industry continues to

show surprising momentum heading into 2018."

     All four sectors had readings that rose further in the month. The index for

the multi-family residential sector rose to 53.9, while the mixed use sector's

reading rose to 53.6, the commercial and industrial sector's reading rose to

53.3 and the institutional sector's reading rose to 52.4.

     The billings index was above 50 in all four regions of the country.

     Housing starts and permits data for November were released Tuesday morning

and showed considerable strength, while data on construction spending for

nonresidential structures in November will be released on January 3 at 10:00

a.m. ET. 

--MNI Washington Bureau; tel: +1 202-371-2121; email: kevin.kastner@marketnews.com

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