Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Design Industry Remains Positive About Near Term Outlook

  • 09/02/15

Washington, D.C. – The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) released the Second Quarter Interior Design Billings Index (IDBI) on August 26, 2015. The June IDBI value of 57.1 indicated that billings remain essentially unchanged from their 1st Quarter score of 57.7 in March. The June New Product Inquiry rate of 58.3 was slightly down from the March value of 58.8. While unexpected, the lower reading may reflect some payback from the strong May readings. However, the index has remained above 50 – the baseline score indicating growth – for 12 consecutive months.

Across the board, all firm sizes showed improvement and all sectors, except for education, reported increased IDBI scores, suggesting a market-wide increase in billings for the second quarter.

Business conditions vary across regions
The South and Midwest regions have reported IDBI scores greater than 55 since February, indicating a sustained growth in billings. Northeast firms rose above 50 in both May and June, while firms in the West fell from a May IDBI of 68 to a June score of 50.

Construction spending continues to surge
Construction spending rose 0.8 percent in May – a much stronger rise than the analyst’s consensus for an increase of 0.4 percent. Overall, construction spending in May was the highest since October 2008.

Six month outlook – stronger business conditions expected
The six-month business conditions index score of 74 fat the end of the 2nd quarter remains essentially unchanged from the 1st quarter score of 73 and slightly better than the 2014 fourth quarter score of 69.9. The consistency of these scores suggests ongoing, continued expansion for the design industry.

“For the most part, the construction and housing sectors are reporting significant improvement in the second quarter,” said Jack Kleinhenz, ASID economist. “The design industry has aptly bobbed and weaved through varied business conditions and has responded with steady improvement in payrolls and revenues. Looking forward, the design industry remains positive about the near term outlook.”

Download the full Second Quarter ASID Interior Design Billings Index Report.

Featured

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.