Dodge Momentum Index dips in January

The Dodge Momentum Index declined 7 percent in January to a four-month low of 152.9, down from the revised December reading of 163.7.

The index, issued by Dodge Construction Network, is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year.

In January, commercial planning fell 9 percent, and institutional planning slipped 1 percent.

After the index saw a 23 percent rise from 2020 through 2021 and reaching a 14-year high, Dodge says declines in recent months may be due to rising costs, logistical problems and shortages of skilled labor. Still, even as the index has decreased, the dollar value of projects in planning remains exceptionally strong, especially for education, warehouse and healthcare projects.

Specific projects

A total of 13 projects with a value of $100 million or more entered planning in January.

The leading institutional projects were a $400 million hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and the $320 million Ascension Seton Medical Tower in Austin, Texas. The leading commercial projects were the $300 million first phase of the Willets Point redevelopment in Willets Point, New York, and the $300 million XNRGY headquarters in Chandler, Arizona.

Many of the challenges facing construction in 2022 will be similar to those in 2021, dampening expectations for robust growth. However, the volume of projects in planning provides hope not only for a continuing recovery, but for it to be more evenly dispersed than last year.