Building permits drop in March but remain up 2.9% YOY over March 2014. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,039,000, 5.7% below the revised February rate of 1,102,000, but 2.9% above the March 2014 estimate of 1,010,000, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 636,000, 2.1% above the revised February figure of 623,000.
AIA’s billings index increases again in March. For the second consecutive month, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) published monthly by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Washington, D.C., indicated a modest increase in design activity. AIA reported the March ABI score was 51.7, up from a mark of 50.4 in February. This score reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to twelve-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.
“Business conditions at architecture firms generally are quite healthy across the country. However, billings at firms in the Northeast were set back with the severe weather conditions, and this weakness is apparent in the March figures,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker in the press release. “The multi-family residential market has seen its first occurrence of back-to-back negative months for the first time since 2011, while the institutional and commercial sectors are both on solid footing.”
Latest rig count reflects continuing slowdown in oil market. Fewer oil drilling rigs are operating in the nation’s oil patches, according to the latest weekly data provided in the Baker Hughes Rig Count. According to this widely watched business barometer for the drilling industry, 954 rigs were operating on April 17, 34 fewer drilling rigs the week prior. The year-over-year data clearly shows the slowdown in drilling activity, with 877 fewer drilling rigs now operating in the United States, down significantly from the 1,831 drilling rigs that were operating at the same time last year.