In the first quarter of this year, Toronto had the most cranes of 14 major cities in North America.
This is according to the Rider Levett Bucknall’s (RLB) Crane Index for North America, which tracks the number of operating tower cranes in Toronto, Calgary, Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Los Vegas, San Fransisco, Portland, Seattle, and Honolulu.
With construction at every corner in Toronto, it’s not exactly a surprise that the city’s crane game is leagues above everyone else’s. Still, the difference in numbers is jarring.
In the first quarter of the year, Toronto had 252 cranes operating on construction projects, up from 208 in the first quarter of last year. The runner up, Los Angeles, trailed behind with 51 cranes. Seattle, Calgary, and Washington, DC also saw an increase in the number of cranes, with 37, 31, and 26 cranes respectively. Meanwhile, the crane count held steady in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, and declined in Boston, Calgary, Portland, Seattle and Washington.
Crane Index for North America, Q1-2022, Rider Levett Bucknall
“As it has since 2015, Toronto continues to lead the crane count in North America, with a 12% increase in cranes across the city, even as project completions took away 18 cranes from the previous survey,” RLB’s report reads. “The commercial sector leads the change in the numbers, with an increase of 18 cranes. Residential and mixed use projects also experienced growth, with a combined increase of seven cranes.”
RLB’s data also revealed that the overall crane count is up.
“With previously delayed projects being brought back online, the crane count experienced an increase of 22 cranes,” the report goes on to say. “As is historically consistent, residential cranes make up 50% of the count, while mixed-use makes up 22%. The third most-active sector is commercial, making up 10% of the total count. We expect the crane count to remain steady, as many projects are experiencing delays in their schedules due to supply chain issues and construction costs continue to climb up, giving some developers hesitancy to break ground at this time.”
