November Brings Another Step Back in Business Conditions at Architecture Firms
In spite of the generally favorable trends in recent months, business conditions at U.S. architecture firms moved down in November, as the AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) declined more than three points to a reading of 42.8, indicating that firm revenue continues to decline. Inquiries for new projects remained positive, but steady gains in inquiries for the past nine months still have not produced increases in workloads. Firms in all regions of the country and in all construction sectors are reporting declines, although firms with an institutional specialization are showing the most encouraging signs. Most architecture firms expect significant changes to their structure and operations over the coming year. 

2010 Projected as Another Weak Year for Nonresidential Construction
The long-awaited economic recovery seems to be well-underway, and even the residential construction sector looks like it has hit bottom and is moving back up after almost four years of deep declines. Nonresidential construction, unfortunately, is still mired in a steep downturn. Overall nonresidential construction spending declined over 10% between October 2008 and October 2009. The buildings portion of the nonresidential sector has performed even worse, given the federal stimulus program’s focus on infrastructure investment, which pushed up spending on streets and highways by 5% over this period, and conservation and development projects (such as dams, levees, and breakwaters) by 23%.