Dodge Momentum Index flat in May 2020

The Dodge Momentum Index declined 0.1 percent in May to 129.2, from the revised April reading of 129.4.

The index, issued by Dodge Data & Analytics, is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year.

The commercial component of the index improved by 1 percent in May, while the institutional component fell 1.9 percent.

With May’s reading, the index is 17 percent below its most recent peak in July 2018, according to Dodge. For context, the peak-to-trough decline during the Great Recession was 62 percent.

In May, 11 projects each with a value of $100 million or more entered planning.

The leading commercial projects were a $213 million warehouse in Riverside, California, and a $195 million warehouse in Perris, California.

The leading institutional projects were a $213 Kaiser Permanente hospital in San Marcos, California, and the $100 million Indiana Health Methodist hospital in Indianapolis.