EW Economic Indicators: Still Growing, Slowly

July 1, 2014
After consecutive months of decreasing demand for design services, the AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI), returned to positive territory, and industrial purchasing continues to show strength but housing permits have softened.

Industrial purchasing managers remain bullish in May. The May Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) by the Institute for Supply Management registered 55.4%, an increase of 0.5% percentage point from April’s reading of 54.9%, indicating expansion in manufacturing for the 12th consecutive month.

Building permits dip in May. U.S. Census data shows residential building permits were down 6.4% from April at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 991,000 and 1.9% below May 2013’s 1,010,000. Single-family authorizations in May were at 619,000, 3.7% above the April figure of 597,000.

Architecture Billings Index back in positive territory. After consecutive months of decreasing demand for design services, the AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI), returned to positive territory, with a score of 52.6 points, up from 49.6 points in April.