Construction + Economy

As the nonresidential construction industry continues to struggle, the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Architecture Billings Index (ABI) showed a nominal improvement in September. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. It is derived from a monthly “Work-on-the-Boards” [...]

Construction spending during July 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $958 billion, 0.2% below the revised June estimate of $959.5 billion and 10.5% below the July 2009 estimate of $1,070.2 billion. During the first seven months of 2009, construction spending reached $543.8 billion, 11.4% below the $613.5 billion for the same [...]

Another stall in the recovery for the construction industry as the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped to its lowest level since June. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the August [...]

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes notched up two points in July to its highest level since September 2008, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI rose two points to 17 in July as builders saw an improvement in current sales conditions but [...]

Building Design & Construction’s July issue features an article by C.C. Sullivan and Barbara Horwitz-Bennett titled, “MEP Technologies for Eco-Effective Buildings,” includes several sections related to lighting. I was pleased to participate in the article as a source instead of an author this time, representing my client the Lighting Controls Association, for which I’m acting [...]

The stimulus plan appears to be having little influence on construction companies’ ability to expand payrolls to date, according to a new industry analysis of the impact of the federal program’s construction spending released by the Associated General Contractors of America. The disappointingly slow pace of construction spending outside of the transportation sector is one [...]

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 11% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units, according to the Commerce Department. Coming on the heels of an upwardly revised number for May, the gain marks a third consecutive month of improved sales activity. “The big gain in home sales last month was [...]

Construction spending during June 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $965.7 billion, 0.3% above the revised May estimate of $963.2 billion and 10.2% below the June 2008 estimate of $1,075.6 billion. During the first six months of 2009, construction spending reached $455.6 billion, 11.4% below the $514.4 billion for the same [...]

Construction employment declined in all but 19 communities nationwide this June as compared to June-2008, according to a new analysis of metropolitan-area employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis, which ranks the 12-month construction employment change reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 352 metro areas, shows that [...]