Not a big surprise that architecture and construction business activities have been steadily declining due to the bad economy. This decline in activities also translates to a decline in dumpster rentals by those construction worker and architects that the dumpster rental companies relied on so heavily.
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI), a leading economic indicator of construction activity, was up almost six points in July, after an earlier five point dip in June.
ABI reflects the approximate nine-to-twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the July ABI rating was 43.1, up from 37.7 the previous month. This score, however, still indicates a decline in demand for design services. Scores above 50 indicate an increase in billings.
“It is always encouraging to see an uptick in our index, but there has been too much contraction in recent months to get overly optimistic about business conditions returning to levels they were at two months ago,” said Kermit Baker, AIA chief economist.
In addition to a very competitive marketplace, architects continue to report that lenders have still not yet fully opened credit lines and that the stimulus funding has so far provided limited project activity for the design community overall, Baker said.
Declining billing activity for design services means contractors will likely see less demand for construction services, including retrofits and removal of construction waste in commercial dumpsters.
The longer the banks hold on to millions of repossesed properties, the higher the risk that the properties are vandalized and/or fall into a state of disrepair. Pretty soon, you’ll see an uptick in dumpster rentals for no other reason than that local municipalities will bring pressure to bear on banks and mortgage companies to clean up the huge mountain of junked properties that are becomeing eyesores and safety hazards in their communities.
That is a valid point and does seem very true. I hope that the contractor’s downfall will not be the dumpster companies sudden burst of business. Instead I hope that the banks change their way of thinking and all building projects that were hauled commence and both the contractors and dumpster rental companies see a big boom in business.
keep your fingers crossed
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