Dive Brief:
- Driven by a 12% increase in institutional building planning, the Dodge Momentum Index rose 5.8% between August and September. That gain was higher than the 2.8% increase between July and August.
- Dodge credits the increase in the institutional building sector to the continued recovery of state and local budgets, which finance such projects.
- Commercial construction rose 1.8% in the same period, and Dodge said this relatively low rise signals a more stable period in that sector's growth.
Dive Insight:
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.
According to Dodge, eight projects exceeding $100 million entered their first phases in September, divided equally between the commercial and industrial sectors.
Among the institutional projects entering planning in September are a $400 million hospital in Rockford, IL, and a $230 million clinic in Weston, FL. Entering the planning stage in the commercial sector are a $330 million office building for Fannie Mae in Washington, DC, and a $150 million office complex renovation in Plano, TX.
