Dive Brief:

• The number of cranes in North America’s major cities has held steady from Q1 to Q3 2022, according to the latest Rider Levett Bucknall Crane Index. Measured cities are down by only three cranes, less than 1%, for that time period.
• Los Angeles, Seattle and Denver topped the list of U.S. cities with 46, 42 and 32 cranes respectively, while Toronto remained at the very top of the overall list with 230.
• RLB published the crane count in conjunction with its quarterly construction cost report, which indicated commercial construction has remained strong amid recessionary fears, higher staffing costs and continued inflation.

Dive Insight:

While strong demand for construction services is good news for the industry, ongoing supply chain issues are blunting the ability for contractors to fully experience the benefit it brings, wrote Julian Anderson, president of RLB North America. Nevertheless, dmand will likely continue to grow as the funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act flow to states and jurisdictions.

The most active sector was residential projects, accounting for half of all cranes in Q3. Mixed-use and commercial projects made up 20% and 15%, respectively.

While supply chain, inflation and other struggles continue, RLB predicted the number of cranes would continue to rise through 2023. Despite volatile conditions, construction projects will continue, RLB predicted, but they will come at a higher price tag.