TRG | The Bottom Line – 4/22

Architectural Billings Index (ABI) release from this past week once again pointed to strong commercial construction outlook, posting a solid sequential step up. The overall ABI has been 50+ for over a year, and total billings had been in the low-50s range from October 2021 through February 2022. Against this backdrop, the ABI jumped to 58.0 in March 2022. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings. Scorings for both new project inquiries and design contracts expanded, posting scores of 63.9 and 60.5, respectively. The ABI continues to point to solid construction activity in all sectors, and generally provides a 9-12 month view. TRG industry contacts have stated that current backlogs provide nearly 24 months of work, and the number of projects coming to market is increasing. The color of the commentary has become increasingly bullish more recently. As one larger contact shared, “Most major markets are extremely busy and…peoples’ feet are on the gas.” As such, the ABI results align with our conversations, perhaps even understating strength in the market.