Yet again, no city in North America has more deployed tower cranes than Toronto.

In its quarterly Crane Index report, which measures construction activity by tower cranes in use in 14 of North America’s largest cities, consulting firm Rider Levett Bucknall again reports that Toronto tops the list.

“As it has since 2015, Toronto continues to lead the crane count in North America, with a 12 percent increase in cranes across the city, even as project completions took away 18 cranes from the previous survey,” says the report. “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.”

The number of cranes in use in the GTA jumped by 21 percent over the first quarter of 2021.

Overall, the survey for the first quarter of 2022 reports a 4.5 percent increase in cranes – about the same number as it found in the first quarter of 2021. Of the 14 cities surveyed: five experienced an increase; six are holding steady; and three have decreased (range from 20 percent-26 percent).

Those with more cranes in operation compared to the last quarter of 2021 are Chicago, Denver, New York, San Francisco, and Toronto. Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix held steady, while Boston, Calgary, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. saw reductions in the number of cranes in use.

The report says Calgary lost just one crane.

“While the $634 million Calgary Event Centre has been put on hold because of concerns about
cost escalation, the number of building permits is up 29 percent year-over-year, with residential projects driving the construction industry. Construction is underway for projects exceeding $3.2 billion value including the BMO Centre Expansion, 12 inner-city multi-family projects, 120 residential suburban projects, and VIVO Indoor Recreation Facility Expansion.”

With previously delayed projects being brought back online, the number of cranes in use across the 14 cities increased by 22 cranes.

Residential cranes make up 50 percent of the count, while mixed-use makes up 22 percent. The third most-active sector is commercial, making up 10 percent of the total count.

RLB says it expects the crane count to remain steady into the year, 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.