Market Snapshot: Dodge Momentum Index

Market Snapshot: Dodge Momentum Index

Weekly market intelligence for AE and environmental industry leaders.

The monthly Dodge Momentum Index, which tracks the value of nonresidential building projects entering planning, retreated by 7.3% in February—with commercial planning dipping by 8.9% and institutional planning slowing by 4.0%. The decline was somewhat expected as planning by owners and developers returns to more normalized levels after a hyperactive stretch last year.

Although the index has fallen in four of the last five months, Dodge Construction Network reports the indicator’s February 2026 value of 250.0 stood 18.7% higher than in February 2025, with the commercial and institutional sectors up 12.3% and 34.0%, respectively. The year-over-year gains are largely due to a sharp spike in the middle of 2025 when the Dodge Momentum Index rose for six consecutive months, jumping by 50% from 203.1 in March 2025 to 304.8 in September 2025.

Warehouse planning gained strength last month, while retail store and recreational building activity remained elevated. Among institutional markets, public buildings saw the sharpest contraction last month and educational planning continued its slide. One bright spot in the institutional sector continues to be health care.

Although slowing in February, data center planning has driven much of the commercial sector’s ascent over the past year. Remove data centers from the commercial sector, and its year-over-year growth plunges from 12.3% to only 4.4%.

“Elevated risks around costs, labor, and geopolitics will continue to constrain builder confidence in the near-term,” says Dodge Construction Network Associate Director of Forecasting Sarah Martin, “but the robust planning pipeline suggests an acceleration in construction spending in 2027.” 

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