Toronto remains on top in the latest North American Crane Index

rlb craine index cover third quarter

Ontario Construction News staff writer

The global pandemic stopped Toronto from adding three cranes since the previous Rider Levett Bucknall Ltd.’s crane index earlier this year. The total is now 124 cranes across the city, and Toronto now is home to about 30 per cent of the North American total.

The RLB Crane Index (Third Quarter 2020)

The city had 121 in last quarter’s RLB report.

RLB’s Crane Index tracks tower cranes in many of the largest cities across North America.

Toronto has more than double the number of cranes of its nearest competitors:

  • Seattle (49)
  • Los Angeles (41)
  • Washington D.C. (38)
  • Calgary (34)

The third-quarter index was completed in August.

However, RLB says the pandemic is likely to squeeze the industry and that high-rise residential sales have dropped 30 per cent in 2020 and the current work-from-home trend could significantly impact commercial construction segment.

“The pandemic-induced recession is going to have far-reaching effects,” Julian Anderson, president of RLB North America, said in a press release.

“Lenders are less likely to support large new developments in sectors that have been hard-hit, like sports and hospitality. As construction costs soften, we are already seeing more interest in the projects that are coming online.”

The Q3 index, published Oct. 1, marks the first overall decline in cranes tracked since 2017. The total number of cranes in the 14 cities dropped by 34 compared to earlier this year, with five cities posting significant declines in their counts, four holding steady and four recording increases.

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