Construction + Economy

North American business conditions continued to improve on balance in May, though positive sentiment was less widespread than in the previous month. NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions slipped 3 points to 68.8. Nonetheless, the index remained well above the 50 point level indicative of an environment conducive to electroindustry [...]

NEMA’s compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) index reversed a negative trend that dated back to the first quarter 2009, registering a 3% year-over-year increase. Conversely, the incandescent lamps index fell to its second lowest level on record showing a year-over-year decline of 2.2% during the first quarter of 2010, which maintains a three and a half [...]

NEMA’s Lighting Systems Index (LSI) increased 1.1% on a quarter-to-quarter basis during the first quarter of 2010. On a year-over-year basis the index posted a similar increase of 1.2%, marking the first time since the second quarter of 2006 that the LSI has registered an appreciable gain compared to the same period a year ago. [...]

For the third straight month, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has gone up. 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. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the April ABI rating was 48.4, up from a reading of [...]

Increases in stimulus-funded projects and growing demand for single family construction helped boost monthly construction employment in 29 states between March and April, according to a new analysis of federal employment figures released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Despite the recent gains, 46 states and the District of Columbia lost construction jobs over [...]

The AIA and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top 10 examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The COTE Top Ten Green Projects program, now in its 14th year, celebrates projects that are the result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems [...]

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has reached agreement on a five-year integrated media partnership with Hanley Wood, LLC, publishers of Architect Magazine. The existing agreement with McGraw-Hill, publishers of Architectural Record Magazine, expires at the end of this year. Effective January 1, 2011, the agreement creates an integrated media offering that encompasses print, online, [...]

On the heels of a more than 2-point gain in February, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was up again in March. 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. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the March ABI [...]

Architect Magazine measures architecture firms of all sizes according to their profitability, commitment to sustainability, and caliber of design, and ranks them in the latest issue here.