Final answer:
The most accurate statement is that the project is trending behind schedule. Schedule variance provides information on the timeliness of a project's progress, not the budget. The gradual decrease in schedule variance highlights that the project's pace is slowing.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to project management, specifically schedule variance and its trend over time. Schedule variance is a measure of schedule performance on a project. If the schedule variance is positive, it indicates that the project is ahead of schedule. Conversely, a negative schedule variance indicates that the project is behind schedule. Since the schedule variance has decreased from $18,000 to $10,000, and then to $8,000, this implies that the project is being completed more slowly than planned. This decrease in the variance amount does not suggest an under-budget or over-budget situation, but instead a delayed one.
Therefore, the most accurate statement is: (2) The project is trending behind schedule.
It's important to note that budget and schedule are two separate aspects of project performance measurement. Schedule variance speaks to time-related performance, while cost variance would be the indicator of budgetary performance.