RLB Crane Index Records 238 Cranes in Toronto During Q1 2023

Toronto continues to maintain its dominance as North America’s undisputed construction capital.

According to the latest report by Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB), there were 238 cranes operating in Toronto during Q1 of 2023 — significantly more than any other city featured in the index, including Seattle (51), Los Angeles (47), Denver (36), Washington DC (26), Calgary (20), San Francisco (17), Chicago (14), Honolulu (14), Portland (14), Las Vegas (12), New York (10), Boston (9), and Phoenix (9).

According to RLB, “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. Our 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.”.

The index also recorded an overall increase in crane count by 7.04%, when compared to Q3 of 2022. Cities that increased their crane count were Denver, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. Cities where crane count declined were Chicago and New York.

According to the report, “The overall crane count for Toronto has increased by eight cranes, although over the last six months, 31 projects have been closed out. This most recent crane count includes 37 brand-new projects. The most significant increase in cranes by project type is residential, with an increase of 13 cranes, while cranes on commercial projects dropped by six cranes.”.

The presence of construction cranes have become a seemingly permanent fixture on Toronto’s growing skyline, and with a significant amount of proposed or approved developments in the works, it is likely that the city will maintain its top ranking on RLB’s Crane Index for years to come.

Stay tuned to Urbanize Toronto for the latest on development and construction in North America’s fastest growing city.