Market Data
June 25, 2026
AIA sees a slowdown in architecture billings
Written by David Schollaert
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) said architecture billings showed signs of cooling in May, with the headline index reading notably below 50.
The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) registered a reading of 44.5 in May, indicating that a growing majority of firms saw lower billings. The index has now ticked lower in back-to-back months, down from 48.3 in April to its lowest reading since January.
A reading below 50 indicates decreasing billings, while a reading above that suggests increasing billings.
The ABI is important to the steel industry as it is a leading indicator of nonresidential construction activity, projecting business conditions in the sector approximately 9-12 months in the future (the usual lag between architectural billings and construction spending).
“Architecture firm billings declined in May as economic uncertainty continued to weigh on the design sector,” AIA said.
“While growth appeared to be approaching earlier this year, the current economic certainty has contributed to business conditions softening across all regions,” AIA added.
AIA Chief Economist Richard Branch said the ABI is weighed down by rising uncertainty stemming from the conflict in Iran and the resulting higher energy costs. But it wasn’t just that, he noted, “Higher interest rates, rapidly rising material costs, and continued labor shortages all contributed to softer demand.”
Firms across the country saw billings decline in May, with the Midwest and West experiencing the sharpest declines. In the South, while billings remained down, they saw some gains after declining in April, and were the firms closest to growth.
Billings were down across specializations as well, though multifamily residential billings saw a flat-to-modest gain and were the closest to growth, the AIA reported.
