The Dodge Momentum Index increased 4.1 percent in September to 143.6 (2000 equals 100) from the revised August reading of 137.9. The Dodge Momentum Index, published by Dodge Data and Analytics, is a monthly index of the first, or initial, report of nonresidential building projects in planning. The gain in September was due to an 8.9 percent increase in the commercial component, while the institutional component decreased 4.8 percent.

For the third quarter, the overall Dodge Momentum Index averaged 140.1, an increase of 0.7 percent from its average in the previous quarter. Compared to the third quarter of 2018, the index is 8.6 percent lower with the commercial component 3.7 percent lower than a year ago, and the institutional component down 16.2 percent. While the dollar volume of projects in planning is lower than it was a year ago, the index moved more sideways than downward during the last two quarters.

Fifteen projects, each with a value of $100 million or more, entered planning. The leading commercial projects were a $400 million consolidated rental car facility at Newark International Airport in Newark, N.J., and a $163 million embassy renovation in Arlington, Va. The leading institutional projects were a $235 million dormitory in Irvine, Calif., and $180 million Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, Ark.