The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, grew +6.9% in July to 291.7 points (2000=100) from the upwardly revised June reading of 273 points. Over the month, commercial planning expanded +4.1% and institutional planning grew +13.1%.
The DMI is a monthly measure based on the three-month moving value of nonresidential building projects going into planning, shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year to 18 months.
“Data centers and broad-based growth across key institutional sectors supported stronger planning activity in July,” said Sarah Martin, director of Economic Research at Dodge Construction Network, in the press release. “Sustained planning activity should bolster construction in late 2027, though real growth will prove more constrained as inflationary expectations are priced into project costs.”
After a brief pause in June, data center planning momentum steadily picked up in July. Meanwhile, office, warehouse, retail and hotel planning slowed pace. Within the institutional portion of the index, planning momentum was more broad-based. Education, healthcare, recreational, religious and public building planning all accelerated in July.
Most of the strong month-over-month gain can be attributed to education and public building starts, with the latter expanding over 100% in the last two months. Year-over-year, the DMI was up +11.7% when compared to July 2025. The commercial portion of the index was up +13.8% and the institutional portion was up +7.6% over the same period.
When removing data centers, the commercial segment would be down -16.2% from year-ago levels, given the surge in activity seen last July.
A total of 59 projects valued at $100 million or more entered planning throughout June. The largest commercial projects included the $500-million Data Center Campus in Petersburg, VA; the $500-million DFW20C Data Center in Fairfield, TX; and the $500-million Google Data Center (Project Avalon, Building 2) in Buffalo, WV.
The largest institutional projects to enter planning included the $351-million Northwestern Memorial Hospital Cancer Center in Chicago, IL; the $300-million BeOne Medicines Research and Development Facility in Pennington, NJ; and the $300-million Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Agricultural Complex in Houston, TX.
