Dodge Momentum Index nearing 10-year high

The Dodge Momentum Index is on an upward swing. Charts courtesy of Dodge Data & Analytics.

The Dodge Momentum Index continued to trend upward in June, growing by 0.8 percent to 165.5 from the revised May reading of 164.2, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.

The index 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 1.1 percent in June while the institutional component improved by a more modest 0.3 percent. 

In June, 13 projects – each with a value of $100 million or more – entered planning. The two leading commercial projects were a $300 million hotel in Orlando, Florida, and a $225 million warehouse in Rialto, California. Meanwhile, the leading institutional projects were the $349 million outpatient medical facility in Richmond, Virginia, and a $200 million hospital in Venice, Florida.

June’s improvement marks the fifth straight monthly increase for the index, which is nearing a 10-year high. 

While construction activity is expected to increase through the end of 2018, the gains for the index during the last two months have been smaller than the gains seen in October 2017 through April of this year.