Steel Markets
Dodge Momentum Index Jumps in June Amid General Slowdown
Written by Sandy Williams
July 8, 2019
The Dodge Momentum Index improved in June, rising 4.0 percent to 146.1 from a revised reading of 140.5 in May. The monthly index measures the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which has been shown to lead construction spending by a full year.
Initiation of planning for institutional building projects jumped 6.1 percent, while commercial planning rose 2.4 percent.
Dodge Data & Analytics suggests caution when reviewing the Index report.
“Despite the improvement shown by the Momentum Index in June, planning for commercial and institutional building projects has clearly stepped back from the torrid pace set during the first half of 2018. Indeed, the average of the overall Momentum Index through the first six months of 2019 was 4.3 percent lower than the same period a year ago, with the commercial component down 5.2 percent and the institutional component down 3.0 percent. What June’s improvement does affirm is that the broader pullback by the Momentum Index remains gradual, and that there are still ample projects at the planning stage to maintain stability for construction spending in the near term.”
Seventeen projects valued at $100 million or more entered the planning phase in June.
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Sandy Williams
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