Dodge Momentum Index Dips in March

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The Dodge Momentum Index dipped slightly in March, falling 2.1 percent to 122.3 (2000=100) from February’s 124.9, 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. Despite the March decline, the Momentum Index has trended higher over the last 12 months. For the first three months of this year, it has averaged 122.5, a 12 percent gain over the first three months of 2014. This rising trend points to increased construction starts through at least early 2016.

Planning activity in both the commercial and institutional sectors fell in March, with declines of 1.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively. There were 10 projects valued at $100 million or more that entered planning during the latest month, comprised of seven commercial projects and three institutional projects.

In the commercial sector, the following projects entered planning: the $400-million Five South Development in Bismarck, North Dakota; the $233-million Rossville Shopping Center in Staten Island, New York; a $150-million store and office complex in New York, New York; a $120-million hotel in New York, New York; the $100-million second phase of the Miami River Village Boutique Hotel in Miami, Florida; the $100-million Grand at Papago Park mixed-use complex in Tempe, Arizona and the $100-million MetroCenter shopping center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Entering planning in the institutional sector were the $250-million first phase of the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana; the $125-million Reynolds School District Bond Projects near Fairview, Oregon and the $100-million expansion of the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware.