Latest Crane Count Shows Net Decrease with High Project Completion Rate

International property and construction consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall has released its latest Crane Index and quarterly Construction Cost Report. The two documents provide a perspective on the North American construction industry in 14 key markets.

The latest RLB quarterly Construction Cost Report, with data from mid-Q1 2024, shows that the national average increase in construction costs was 1.29%, similar to pre-pandemic levels. Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. all experienced increases over the national average this quarter. Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle experienced gains that were less than the national average.

Crane Index notes

• Calgary, Las Vegas and Los Angeles have seen an increase in crane counts
• Honolulu, Phoenix, Seattle and Toronto are holding steady in their crane counts
• Cities with a decrease of more than 20% include Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Portland, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Quarterly Construction Cost Report notes

• The U.S. quarterly national average increase in construction cost is approximately 1.29%, compared to 5.85% year-over-year
• The construction unemployment rate is holding steady at 4.4% as compared to the same period last year
• The Architectural Billings Index in February was 49.5, suggesting that the recent slowdown may be receding and up from the previous month’s score of 46.2