The Dodge Momentum Index grew 1.3% in August to 134.9 (2000=100), from its revised July reading of 133.2, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The move higher in August was the result of a 1.7% increase from July for institutional planning as well as a 1% gain for commercial planning. August is the fifth consecutive month that the Momentum Index has increased, marking the longest such streak since the end of 2012 into 2013, and the highest level since late 2008.
Year over year, the Index is up 15.6%, marking the fifth month of continued positive growth, according to Wells Fargo Securities. Given that DMI typically leads nonresidential construction by a year, growth in DMI points to continued gains in private nonresidential construction outlays.
Major sectors are showing growth — institutional planning up 22% and commercial planning up 11%, according to Dodge Data. That both sectors are showing such improvement suggests that developers are shrugging off sluggish economic data and the uncertainty surrounding the November elections and moving ahead with plans for new projects.
In August, 14 projects entered planning each with a value that exceeded $100 million. For the commercial building sector, the leading projects were a $400 million expansion to the Resorts World Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and a $312 million Place Station Hotel tower also in Las Vegas.
The leading institutional projects were a $260 million education complex in Thompson, NY, and a $160 million expansion and renovation of the Lakeland Medical Center in Saint Joseph, MI.
