Construction crane numbers reach new heights
An unprecedented 140 longterm cranes are operating around New Zealand.
Auckland boasted 90, or 64 per cent, of the total crane count, according to Rider Levett Bucknall’s latest Crane Index, an increase of 8.4 per cent in six months.
The Christchurch crane count was 22, up 69 per cent on RLB’s last edition for the first quarter of this year, Queenstown hosted 18, Wellington had eight, six in Tauranga and Dunedin and Hamilton had two cranes each.
The numbers reflected a continuing high level of construction activity across the country due to strong underlying demand across nearly all sectors, said Rider Levett Bucknall’s Auckland director Chris Haines.
New work so far in 2018 was up 7.1 per cent on last year, totalling more than $17 billion, he said. The residential sector remained dominant, increasing nearly 9 per cent to $12b.
The sector showed the highest count on RLB records, with 57 long-term cranes on housing projects in the main centres.