The Dodge Momentum Index, issued by Dodge Construction Network, slipped 2.5 percent in June due to a slowdown in institutional planning.
The index, which is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning, now stands at 197.3. Dodge’s commercial component rose 3.1 percent in June while institutional sunk 10.5 percent.
“A deceleration in institutional planning caused the momentum index to decrease in June,” says Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting at Dodge, who discusses the latest Dodge Momentum Index developments in a video here. “Project activity in this segment pulled back from the robust highs of the last three months but continued to dwarf year-ago levels.
“In contrast,” she adds, “growth in the commercial segment may be fleeting, as the continued elevation in interest rates and increasingly tight lending standards weigh down the sector in the latter half of the year.”
According to Dodge, June’s commercial planning remained afloat alongside an uptick in data center and hotel planning projects. Institutional planning, on the other hand, was driven lower by a decrease in education and health care activity.
Year over year, the Dodge Momentum Index is 25 percent higher than it was in June 2022. The commercial and institutional components are up 17 percent and 39 percent, respectively, in that time.
Specific projects
Dodge says 22 projects valued at $100 million or more entered planning in June.
The largest commercial projects to enter planning were the $335 million Queensbridge Collective Office Tower in Charlotte and the $280 million Old Potomac Church Data Center in Stafford, Virginia.
Bolstering the institutional planning queue was the $710 million Medford Life Science Park project in Medford, Massachusetts, and the $157 million Center of Innovation building in Emeryville, California.
