Nonresidential Projects Decline by 2.3 Percent According to Report
July 11, 2012

Nonresidential building projects in planning have decreased by 2.3 percent in June, according to a monthly report issued this week by McGraw-Hill Construction.

According to the latest Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, nonresidential construction has "been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year."

June was the second consecutive monthly decrease, which followed a 0.7 decline in May. The two-month slip in nonresidential projects reflects "the recent softening for the U.S. economy, and suggests that the slower pace of economic growth is causing some deceleration in plans for future development," according to the report.

The institutional building sector of nonresidential building decreased 10.2 percent and was "weighed down in June by a decreased amount of planning projects for education buildings."

However, commercial building increased by 5.9 percent in June and "was helped in particular by an uptick in new plans for office projects, including a new office campus in Mountain View, Calif., and a new corporate office building in Everett, Wash. An increased volume of projects at the planning stage was also reported for stores and warehouses."