Institutional Planning Drives Growth
BOSTON, MA – October 7, 2026 — The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, expanded 2.4% in September to 288.0 (2000=100) from the downwardly revised August reading of 281.3. Over the month, commercial planning declined 1.3% and institutional planning grew 9.4%.
“Institutional planning led this month’s growth, alongside a strong uptick in education, healthcare, and government building planning,” said Sarah Martin, Director of Economic Research at Dodge Construction Network. “Milder growth was seen across several other commercial sectors, as well. As steady growth resumes across most nonresidential sectors, construction spending in those sectors should see a marginally stronger late 2027.”
Commercial planning activity strengthened across retail stores, hotels, office buildings and parking garages over the month. However, this was more than offset by slower momentum in data center and warehouse planning. Robust growth in education, healthcare, and public planning led the strong growth in the institutional portion of the Index. Year-over-year, the DMI was up 3.7% when compared to September 2025. The commercial portion of the index was down 3.0% and the institutional portion was up 17.2% over the same period. When removing data centers, the commercial segment would be down 14.9% from year-ago levels, given the surge in activity seen in late 2025.
A total of 45 projects valued at $100 million or more entered planning throughout September. The largest commercial projects included the $480 million Project North data center in Jermyn, Pennsylvania, and two $473 million data centers, EDCAUS15 and EDCAUS16, located in Bastrop, Texas. The largest institutional projects to enter planning included the $346 million Duke Raleigh Hospital addition in Raleigh, North Carolina, the $325 million Spartanburg Regional Heart & Vascular Hospital in Spartanburg, South Carolina and the $319 million WakeMed Hospital in Wendell, North Carolina.
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.
