Dodge Momentum Index up 4 percent in September 2019

The September Dodge Momentum Index improved 4.1 percent from August’s revised reading. Chart courtesy of Dodge Data & Analytics

The Dodge Momentum Index improved by 4.1 percent in September to 143.6, from a revised August reading of 137.9, Dodge Data & Analytics reports.

The September gain was credited to an 8.9 percent increase in the commercial component. The institutional component, however, dropped 4.8 percent.

For the third quarter as a whole, the index averaged a 140.1 reading, an 8.6 percent decrease compared to the third quarter of 2018. Additionally, the third-quarter commercial component is 3.7 percent lower and the institutional component is 16.2 percent lower compared to the same period a year ago.

Fifteen projects, each with a value of $100 million or more, entered planning in September. The leading commercial projects were a $400 million consolidated rental car facility at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, and a $163 million embassy renovation in Arlington, Virginia. As for institutional projects, the leaders in dollar volume were a $235 million dormitory project in Irvine, California, and the $180 million Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

While the dollar volume of projects in planning decreased, compared to last year, the index has moved more sideways than downward during the two most recent quarters.

The Dodge Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year.