Between March and April 2026, more firms reported a decline in billings than reported an increase. The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score dropped month-over-month from 49.8 to 48.3 points. Nationwide, a score of 50 points or more indicates growth; however, no such score has been attained for nearly 3 years and 4 months. Architectural services employment also declined by 600 jobs in March.
Alongside this news of decline comes insight into where growth is possible: firms have reported an increase in new project inquiries, specifically for the institutional and multifamily residential sectors. On the other hand, projects in the commercial/industrial sector have received the least amount of inquiries, an ongoing trend spanning the past six months.
The April ABI also explores trends in international projects, which are projects built outside the U.S. Nine percent of respondents have had billings from international projects over the past five years, with 21 percent of large firms comprising the highest share of this demographic.
Of the firms with international projects, 54 percent reported projects from East Asia and the Pacific (excluding China), and 50 percent reported projects in Canada. While 64 percent more of these firms reported higher year-over-year international billings than did lower, the proportion of respondents who have no plans to take on international projects remains high at 81 percent.
