The Dodge Momentum Index dropped 4.9 percent in December 2018 to 151.9 from the revised November reading of 159.7, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.
The December decline was due to a 7.6 percent drop in the commercial component of the Momentum Index, while the institutional component declined 0.7 percent.
Seven projects each with a value of $100 million or more entered planning in December.
The two leading institutional projects were a $140 million science and engineering building at Northeastern University in Boston and a $120 million Trophy Park Sports Complex in Jackson, New Jersey.
The two leading commercial projects were a $160 million addition and renovation project at the Two Penn Plaza office complex in New York City and a $125 million Bellevue Cadillac office towers in Bellevue, Washington.
For the full year 2018, the Momentum Index improved 4.3 percent from the end of 2017, with the institutional component gaining 8.5 percent for the year and the commercial component increasing 1.6 percent.
The Momentum 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.
