The latest Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) has shown an increase of 6.1% for April to a new score of 173.9. For the month, commercial planning improved by 12.6%, while institutional planning dropped by 6.3%. 

Year-over-year, the DMI is now 1% lower than it was in April of 2023. Planning in the commercial segment was up 6% from year-ago levels, while the institutional segment was down 15% over the same timeframe. An influx of new data center projects had been credited for the marked improvements in the former category.

"Outsized demand to build Cloud and AI infrastructure is supporting above-average activity in the sector. Most other categories, however, faced slower growth over the month," Sarah Martin, the Associate Director of Forecasting at Dodge Construction Network, stated: "Across these industries, it’s likely that owners and developers are grappling with uncertainty around interest rates and lending standards, thus delaying their decisions to push projects into the planning queue. If interest rates begin to tick down in the latter half of 2024, more substantive growth in nonresidential planning activity should follow."

In April, a total of 25 projects valued at more than $100 million entered planning. The largest projects included the $1 billion Convergent Technology Park and the $630 million Dulles Digital Data Center (both in Virginia). The largest institutional projects to enter planning were the $275 million Win-River Resort and Casino in Redding, California, and the $254 million AdventHealth Hospital in North Carolina.