NZ crane numbers fall 8 per cent from record high, apartment decline cited

A slowing pipeline of work in the residential sector was blamed for the decrease in skyline giants. Photo / Greg Bowker

Declining residential construction work, particularly apartments, has meant fewer big cranes nationally, particularly in Auckland.

Quantity surveyors Rider Levett Bucknall said the number of long-term fixed high-rise and crawler cranes working on New Zealand construction sites fell 8 per cent in the past six months.

NZ had a record high of 157 of the towering giants earlier this year. But there are only 144 at the latest count.

The RLB Crane Index noted a big drop in the number of apartment projects, particularly in Auckland.

Chris Haines, an Auckland-based director of the business, cited falling exports, falling dairy and log prices, an increasing Government operating deficit and the election as adding uncertainty to future Government spending. Those factors affect the construction market, he said.

Auckland has 90 long-term fixed high-rise and crawler cranes, Christchurch 18, Wellington 12, Queenstown 11, Dunedin five and Tauranga and Hamilton each have four.

The number of long-term cranes on residential Auckland sites dropped 33 per cent in the past six months, from 54 cranes at the end of this year’s first quarter to 36 at the end of the third quarter.

All up, Auckland has 90 long-term cranes on all types of construction work, down from 103 from earlier this year, with 23 new cranes erected but 33 removed between the two quarters.

“A net decrease of 13 long-term cranes and an 8 per cent fall in crane numbers across New Zealand was recorded over the past six months, following a slowing of crane commencements,” Haines said.

“This is particularly true of the residential sector and a slowing pipeline where only eight new long-term cranes have been sighted since Q1, but 29 residential cranes have been removed, equating to a 30 per cent decrease in residential cranes across the country,” he said.

Christchurch and Wellington were the only centres with rising crane numbers. All other centres had declining numbers in Q3. Christchurch had rising crane numbers for the second period in a row. Four long-term cranes were added to construction sites.

Queenstown has a high level of construction activity. Three new long-term cranes were added to sites but seven were removed. The Queenstown region has 11 cranes, down from 15 at the last count. The residential sector remains the focal point of activity in the region, accounting for 72.2 per cent of all long-term cranes.

RLB says it calculates crane numbers by staff in each of its offices counting the numbers in their area. That provides the base information for the index. Results are released twice a year.

The previous numbers were released in April this year. Those showed the number of long-term fixed high-rise and crawler cranes working on New Zealand construction sites rose 6 per cent to hit a record high of 157.

New Zealand had 144 cranes up by late 2021, which rose to a record 150 cranes in the six months to the end of February 2022.

That dropped to 148 cranes in the six months to last August but information showed it had shot to the record 157 by March.

Auckland then had 103 cranes, Hamilton and Tauranga had five each, Wellington had nine, Christchurch and Queenstown each had 15 and Dunedin had six.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.