The Dodge Momentum Index moved 9.1 percent higher in May to 178.0 (2000=100), up from the revised April reading of 163.2. The Momentum Index, issued 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.
May’s jump was the result of a large increase in commercial planning activity, which posted its strongest month-over-month increase since October 2017. Institutional planning, meanwhile, fell by less than one percentage point.
Commercial planning had been in a holding pattern over the last four months, but it broke out in May due to sev
