NEW YORK CITY—The year got off to a sluggish start from the standpoint of construction spending, as Dodge Data & Analytics' newly issued Dodge Momentum Index of nonresidential projects in planning dropped 5.1% in January to 143.7 from a revised reading of 151.5 in December. Yet Dodge Data sees the lower reading as a return to a more sustainable level following an especially strong fourth quarter.

The commercial component of the Momentum Index was 7.8% lower in January, while the institutional component was down 0.9%. However, on a year-over-basis January's index was up 7.7%, with both the commercial and institutional components showing growth over January 2017. This suggests that nonresidential building construction should continue to post moderate gains in 2018, according to Dodge Data.

For '17 on the whole, the Dodge Index of new starts averaged 158, with a baseline of 100 established by construction levels in 2000. “The construction industry over the past two years has made the transition to a more mature stage of expansion, characterized by slower rates of growth for total construction compared to the 11% to 13% yearly gains during the 2012-2015 period,” says Robert A. Murray, Dodge Data's chief economist.