Nonresidential construction index climbs slightly in April

McGraw-Hill Construction launched the Dodge Momentum Index, a 12-month indicator of construction spending for nonresidential building. Since reaching the bottom in July 2011, the index has trended upwards in all but two months, according to a May 17 McGraw-Hill release. In April, the index climbed 1.0 point from the previous month to 94.7.

"The relatively steady movement upward since the middle of last year suggests that construction spending put in place for nonresidential buildings should begin to move in a more consistently positive direction during the second half of 2012. This is good news for an industry that has been strongly hit by declines since the 2009 recession," said Robert Murray, vice president of Economic Affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction, in the release.

Read the full release.