Dive Brief:
-
The Dodge Momentum Index rebounded 4.1% in December to 125.2, up from its revised November number score of 120.3. Last month ended the downward trajectory through October and November and even canceled out November’s decline. Both the institutional and commercial building sectors contributed to the increase, at 4.7% and 3.6% respectively.
-
Year over year, the Index ended 2015 up 2.4% from 2014, partially held back by a 6.7% decline in commercial projects. However, the drop in the commercial segment evened out the sector’s growth after an unsustainable spike of 26.4% in 2014, according to Dodge Data.
-
Helped along by the passage of recent bond measures and fiscally healthier state and local governments, institutional projects in the planning stage rose 15.8% in December compared with December 2014.
Dive Insight:
Dodge Data expects 2016 to see growth in commercial planning activity as a result of encouraging industry fundamentals, such as low vacancy rates and strong employment.
Ten projects exceeding $100 million in value, up from November’s seven, entered their first phases in December, according to Dodge Data.
Among the large commercial projects entering planning in November were a $176 million warehouse in Shoemakersville, PA, and a $160 million office project in Washington, DC. Entering the planning stage in the institutional sector were a $500 million renovation project at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, and a $300 million hospital in St. George, UT.
The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of initial reports of nonresidential building projects in planning, which usually lead nonresidential construction spending by one year.
