Dive Brief:

• The Dodge Momentum Index, a benchmark that measures nonresidential building planning, dropped 5.1% in April largely due to slower commercial activity for offices, hotels and retail stores, according to a Dodge Construction Network report. The index, which was still up 11% from a year ago, typically leads actual construction spending by 12 months.
• The decline follows a larger 8.6% tumble in March, predominantly spurred by tightened lending standards and jitters over recent bank failures, said Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting for Dodge Construction Network.
• “On par with our expectations, the DMI continued to recede in April, due to declining economic conditions and ongoing banking uncertainty.” said Martin. “Weaker commercial planning is driving the DMI’s decline, as it is more exposed to real-time economic changes than the largely publicly funded institutional segment.”

Dive Insight:

The commercial component, which includes offices, hotels, retail stores and warehouses, fell 8% in April, according to Dodge. The sluggish activity there caused the overall drop, according to the report. 

On the other hand, growth in healthcare and amusement projects largely offset weak education planning in the institutional sector. That caused overall planning in the segment to slightly tick up 0.3% in April, according to the report.

The DMI news follows the American Institute of Architects’ Architecture Billings Index’s most recent report, which showed a slight improvement in business conditions in March, marking its first positive score in over five months. 

Still, AIA said the pace of growth of inquiries for new projects slowed at design firms in March, while the value of new design contracts also declined for the first time in four months. That likely reflects the ongoing concern among clients about committing to new projects amid uncertainty about interest rates and inflation, according to AIA.

On a year-over-year basis, the commercial and institutional components remain up 7% and 17%, respectively, according to Dodge.

A total of 16 projects with a value of $100 million or more entered the planning stages in April, according to Dodge. The leading commercial projects included:

• A $268 million warehouse in El Dorado Hills, California.
• A $170 million hotel in New York City, New York.

The leading institutional projects included:

• The $450 million Desert Diamond Casino in Glendale, Arizona.
• The $350 million Global Energy Park research and development laboratory in Golden, Colorado.