Dive summary:

• Nonresidential construction appears to have hit the "pause" button as companies wait to see where the presidential election – and the U.S. economy – go and whether the nation goes over the "fiscal cliff."
• McGraw-Hill's Dodge Momentum Index, which measures projects being planned and leads the economy by about a year, went from August's 95.4 to 94.7 last month. The index uses the year 2000 as its 100 mark.
• The decline reflects the influence of the commercial construction sector, which would have fallen more without two projects announced for Texas and Florida. Institutional construction went up, and two hospital projects more than made up for declines in planned educational construction.

From the article:

The Dodge Momentum Index retreated 0.8% in September compared with August, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. ....