Despite rising interest rates leading to a decline in new condo sales, Toronto has the highest number of operating tower cranes in North America, a new report by property and consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall shows.

Toronto had 230 active cranes in the sky in the third quarter of 2022. That is five times higher than Los Angeles, which ranked second on the RLB’s biannual Crane Index of 14 North American cities.

Even though there were almost nine per cent fewer cranes than in the first quarter of this year, when there were 252, Toronto has almost as many cranes as the other 13 markets combined, the report said. It attributed the drop to fewer new condo sales and mixed-use projects, along with staffing issues and strikes in Ontario’s construction sector.

The report notes that as the housing market cools, it will be partially offset by investment in non-residential business, such as government investments in transportation infrastructure. As well Ontario’s economy is expected to grow four per cent this year and 3.2 per cent the following year, according to the report.

“The index is a general indication of construction activity in each of the cities researched in our report,” said Mel Yungblut of RLB Toronto’s office of the twice-yearly report. “It is a simple view of construction activity in the local market,” he said adding “Toronto has a very active residential market that is reflected in the total crane count.”

But industry experts aren’t so upbeat about the future of construction in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.

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