Dodge Momentum Index ends 2020 on high note

Commercial building was a driver for the Dodge Momentum Index in December. Chart: Dodge Data & Analytics | Click to enlarge

The Dodge Momentum Index jumped 9.2 percent in December to 134.6, Dodge Data & Analytics reports.

The momentum index, issued by Dodge Data, is a monthly measure of the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which, Dodge Data says, have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. The commercial component of the momentum index rose 14 percent, while the institutional component rose 0.3 percent.

According to Dodge Data, the gain in the commercial component of the momentum index was heartening even though the increase was mostly the result of a sizable increase in warehouse planning. The warehouse sector has been one of the few areas of construction that has flourished during the pandemic thanks to increased demand for online shopping.

2020 overall

For the full year of 2020, the Dodge Momentum Index lost 4.8 percent from 2019. The institutional component of the momentum index dropped 13.5 percent, while the commercial component increased 0.8 percent.

In December, 11 projects – each with a value of $100 million or more – entered planning. The leading commercial projects were the $450 million 50 Allen Plaza office tower in Atlanta and the $426 million Orion Center office project in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The leading institutional projects were two lab projects associated with the Gateway Innovation Center in Somerville, Massachusetts, valued at $385 million and $300 million.