The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) continued its seesawing trend in March, falling 8.6% to 183.7 from the revised February reading of 201.0. Last month, the DMI’s commercial component fell 6.6%, and the institutional component fell 12.9%. 

The dip in commercial planning was attributed to fewer projects in the office and warehouse sectors, which fell 29% and 11%, respectively. Institutional planning was weakened by a 17% fall in healthcare, a 6% decrease in education, and a 14% drop in amusement planning. On a positive note, an influx of research and development laboratories have entered the queue. Year over year, the DMI is 24% higher than in March 2022, with the commercial component up 37% and the institutional component 2% higher.

“We are predicting the Dodge Momentum Index to work its way back to historical norms throughout 2023, concurrent with weaker economic conditions,” said Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting for Dodge Construction Network. “Lending standards for small banks in particular have substantially tightened as banking insecurity intensifies. As a result, owners and developers are more likely to pull back in the short-term, which would further contract the DMI as we continue into the year.”

A total of 18 projects valued at $100 million or more entered planning in March. Commercial projects were led by a $300 million office building in Chicago and the $215 million 58 Logistics Center Industrial Park warehouse project in Bakersfield, California. The institutional sector was led by two projects at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas: the $425 million School of Public Health and Health Professions building and the $348 million rehabilitation hospital.