There are once again more tower cranes in operation across Toronto than there are across 13 other key markets across North America combined.

International property and construction consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) released the findings of its North American Crane Index for the third quarter of 2023 earlier this week.

The report finds that there are 240 tower cranes in use across the city. By comparison, there are 226 in use across 13 other key cities across Canada and the United States combined.

The latest survey reports a decrease of 10% (51 cranes) from the first quarter edition of the years. That finding, says RLB, is a function of many projects approaching completion, and rising interest rates curbing private-sector construction activity.

Of the 14 cities surveyed, six saw decreases of more than 20%; two increased; and six held steady.

Toronto was one of the two cities to report increased crane counts in the third quarter, with two more tower cranes in use compared with six months ago.

The city’s residential sector continues to see the most consistent growth in crane count, up seven more cranes this quarter, while the hospitality sector has dropped by four cranes. RLB adds that, “behind the relatively consistent crane counts, there’s been a very active ongoing construction scene, with over 50 new projects introducing cranes in the past six months.”

Of Toronto’s new construction projects, 41 are residential projects, seven are commercial projects, and the remaining three are institutional projects.

In all, Toronto counted 146 cranes in use on residential projects, a further 35 on commercial projects, 31 on mixed-use projects, and seven on public or civic jobs.

Calgary is the other Canadian city to be profiled on the RLB list.

The city’s crane count decreased by one in the third quarter, despite the fact that the total value of construction work in the first half of 2023 increased by 13 percent compared to the year previous.

Calgary is also reporting strong growth in housing projects, with five new downtown office-to-residential conversion projects receiving funding, and approximately 45 percent of new housing located in multi-unit buildings.

Despite the overall downward trend in crane numbers across North America, RLB anticipates the number of cranes to be steady for the remaining of 2023.