Steel Markets

Dodge Momentum Index Climbs in March

April 7, 2018

The Dodge Momentum Index, which forecasts nonresidential construction, climbed 6.1 percent in March, registering 155.0. The commercial component led March’s gain with a 9.6 percent increase—erasing February’s 5.1 percent decline. Activity in the institutional sector was milder, gaining 1.6 percent, following an 8.1 percent increase in February.

Wrote Dodge Data & Analytics: “During the first nine months of 2017, the overall Momentum Index made little progress. However, planning activity shot up in the fourth quarter, with that impetus continuing into the first three months of 2018. In the latest quarter, the Momentum Index gained 5.1%. This may be a sign that planners are reacting in a positive fashion to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Trump signed at the end of December.”

In March, six projects each with a value of $100 million or more entered planning, including commercial projects in Ashburn, Va., and Riverside, Calif. The leading institutional projects were in Torrance, Calif., and Columbia, S.C.

The Momentum Index, published monthly by Dodge Data & Analytics, 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.

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