NEW YORK CITY—The Dodge Momentum Index, which represents the initial report on nonresidential projects in planning, rose in October after declining for the past four months, Dodge Data & Analytics said Tuesday. With the year 2000 as the benchmark of 100, the index rose 13.2% to 130.9 from the revised September reading of 115.6.

October's gain nearly erased the erosion of prior months, including the 7.9% decline posted in September. From September to October, the commercial portion of the Momentum Index advanced 16.8%, while the institutional portion grew 8.3%, according to Dodge.

On a year-over-year basis, the index is now 6.1% higher, with the commercial portion up 5.5% and the institutional portion up 6.9%. Dodge says the increase recorded for last month supports the premise that building activity has further room to grow during this cycle. Although month-to-month activity could continue to be volatile, the firms says there are enough projects in the pipeline to sustain growth into 2018.

In October, 20 projects each with a value of $100 million or more entered planning. For the commercial building sector, the leading projects were a pair of Facebook data centers in Sandston, VA, to be built near the state capital of Richmond and valued at $400 million and $200 million, respectively. The leading institutional projects were a $480-million hospital in Dallas and a $160-million hospital tower in Seattle.

Earlier this month, Dodge Data offered mixed longer-term news for the construction industry, and commercial property sectors in particular. At its annual Outlook Executive Conference in Chicago, the firm predicted a 3% increase in starts for next year, bringing the total to a projected $765 billion. That's a decline from the annual increases of 11% to 13% seen between 2012 and 2015, which moderated to 5% in 2016.

Dodge projects a 2% increase in commercial building next year, following a 3% gain this year and continuing a slowdown in growth after the 21% spike experienced in '16. Additionally, Dodge said the gains won't occur across the board: although office and industrial both are expected to see further growth, store construction will remain weak, and hotel starts will continue pulling back from a peak reached last year

Instant Insights /

Project Planning Revs Up in October

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