Toronto, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Denver top the list of U.S/Canadian cities with the greatest number of fixed construction cranes on construction sites, according to Rider Levett Bucknall's RLB Crane Index for North America for Q1 2023.
Toronto had a whopping 238 cranes in place in the first quarter. Seattle had 51 cranes to lead all U.S. cities, followed by Los Angeles (47), Denver (36), and Washington, D.C. (26).
The RLB survey reports a nominal increase of 7.04% (34 cranes) from the Q3 2022 edition of the RLB Crane Index. Of the 14 cities surveyed, eight experienced
an increase in cranes, two decreased, and four held steady.
The three top sectors across all cities are residential (51%), mixed use (22%), and commercial (12%).
"Despite continued workforce challenges and economic uncertainties are still concerns for the coming year, we are continuing to see new projects break ground within our 14-key markets. This indicates that investments are continuing to be made into our cities," said the report's authors.
"Notwithstanding concerns for the housing market, residential and mixed-use projects make up 73% of the overall count. We anticipate the number of cranes to remain high into 2023. Despite uncertain market conditions, construction projects will continue to break ground, albeit at a cost," the added.
About the RLB Crane Index
Rider Levett Bucknall’s Crane Index for North America is published biannually. It tracks the number of operating tower cranes in 14 major cities across the U.S. and Canada. The index was the first of its kind, and unlike other industry barometers that track cost and other financial data, the Crane Index tracks the number of fixed cranes on construction sites and gives a simplified measure of the current state of the construction industry’s workload in each location.
Related Stories
Market Data | May 19, 2020
5 must reads for the AEC industry today: May 19, 2020
Clemson's new mass timber building and empty hotels as an answer for the affordable housing shortage.
Market Data | May 18, 2020
5 must reads for the AEC industry today: May 18, 2020
California's grid can support all-electric buildings and you'll miss your office when it's gone.
Market Data | May 15, 2020
6 must reads for the AEC industry today: May 15, 2020
Nonresidential construction employment sees record loss and Twitter will keep all of its office space.
Market Data | May 15, 2020
Nonresidential construction employment sees record loss in April
The construction unemployment rate was 16.6% in April, up 11.9 percentage points from the same time last year.
Market Data | May 14, 2020
5 must reads for the AEC industry today: May 14, 2020
The good news about rent might not be so good and some hotel developers consider whether to abandon projects.
Market Data | May 13, 2020
House democrats' coronavirus measure provides some relief for contractors, but lacks other steps needed to help construction
Construction official says new highway funding, employee retention credits and pension relief will help, but lack of safe harbor measure, Eextension of unemployment bonus will undermine recovery.
Market Data | May 13, 2020
5 must reads for the AEC industry today: May 13, 2020
How to design resilient libraries in a post-covid world and vacation real-estate markets are 'toast.'
Market Data | May 12, 2020
ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator falls in April; Contractor Confidence rebounds from historic lows
Nonresidential construction backlog is down 0.4 months compared to the March 2020 ABC survey and 1.7 months from April 2019.
Market Data | May 12, 2020
6 must reads for the AEC industry today: May 12, 2020
A 13-point plan to reduce coronavirus deaths in nursing homes and Bjarke Ingels discusses building on Mars.
Market Data | May 11, 2020
Interest in eSports is booming amid COVID-19
The industry has proved largely immune to the COVID-19 pandemic due to its prompt transition into online formats and sudden spike in interest from traditional sports organizations.
