Forecast Focus
Looking at Architectural Billings Index and the mid-year AIA Consensus Forecast
It's a big week in the forecasting side of things with the latest Architectural Billings Index (ABI) and the release of the mid-year AIA Consensus Forecast. First on the ABI, things held in the positive territory, barely, but still, we’ll take it versus it being negative. Good news also in that design contracts ticked up and design inquiries held strong. So we have some decent metrics in front of us there.
As for the consensus, every year AIA puts out two reports, one at the start of the year and one in middle that updates several forecasts from a range of organizations. The midyear report showed a strong 2023 in total and a 2024 that hangs in there, basically flat from the growth gained this year. The good news points to the lodging side of things, something that has been hit here before, as well as public safety, health, and schools.
Bad news? The office scene. You know it’s been a subject here leading off my blog the last few weeks and the crystal ball is still looking a bit ugly on that space. I remain hopeful though that the office side will battle forward and the key there is the renovation and retrofit aspect. Bottom line is right now things are at least hanging in there. Some locales in North America are seeing some lighter action at the moment, from all indications that’s temporary. We’ve been tracking 2024 being slower than 2023, and featuring a soft spot hitting 2Q, but possibly it ends up a bit better than expected. We’ll keep on it and advise…but you all know what to do, be prepared, be diverse, and communicate up and down the chain.
Elsewhere….
Glass Conference: Tacoma
This week the NGA Glass Conference in Tacoma takes place and some serious work will get done on the biggest subjects in our industry. One big one will be Bird Friendly as pretty much all of the leaders in that area will be in the room and with constant movement on ordinances and codes it will be good to get up to date. Follow Glass Magazine on Twitter or the National Glass Association on LinkedIn to stay up to speed!
GlassBuild America
And yes… GlassBuild America registration is now open! Go to GlassBuild.com and get signed up now and you may as well grab your hotel room before they fill up. The show this year is really looking strong- show floor is packed with both recognizable companies and new companies, all of which are bringing the latest and greatest to our space. Why delay? Go get your plans made for the fall! October 31-November 2nd in Atlanta!
FHC and MyGlassClass
Massive kudos to the team at Frameless Hardware Company (FHC) for their support of MyGlassClass and glass education via the NGA. It is an awesome way to support our industry and having this top-notch training, available at your fingertips, 24/7/365 is extremely important.
Glass Cast
The latest episode of Glass Cast is up with a look back at Joey Aragon from Aragon Construction talking about how his company established a mentorship program. It is a good quick hit with nice details provided. Joey and the team at Aragon are incredible, so this is worth the listen. Plus Katy Devlin and Sara Neiswanger do a nice job laying it all out. Catch the video HERE and Audio HERE or by searching Glass Cast on Apple or Spotify.
Glazier Nation “Advocate of the Year”
Last this week… I was extremely honored to be awarded the Glazier Nation “Advocate of the Year” award for 2023. I truly appreciate the recognition and my drive will always be focused on doing everything I can for this industry. Thank you Glazier Nation for this honor!
Also as a part of it, I was interviewed by John Spelman for the Glazier Nation podcast and it was a good time to talk about a range of issues that affect our world and was cool to learn about John, his long connections to our industry etc. Please feel free to check it out if you get a moment.
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