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RLB CRANE INDEX®

Q1 2026 NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND
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RLB CRANE INDEX®

176
-3 (1.68%)

Auckland’s RLB Crane Index® fell marginally from 179 to 176 points in Q1 2026. The city now hosts 58 long-term cranes, down from 59 in the previous edition, with 26 cranes added and 27 removed.

Q1 2026

RLB CRANE INDEX®

AUCKLAND

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Q1 2026

Highlights

Crane numbers suggest Auckland remains near the bottom of the cycle, with activity concentrated in infrastructure-led work and selective residential developments rather than a broad-based recovery.

Currently, there are 17 residential long-term cranes, the same as in Q3 2025. Six new cranes commenced on residential projects in this edition, offset by six removals. The proportion of residential cranes remained steady at around 29% of all long-term cranes, well down from 40 to 60% over the 2016 to 2022 period.

Residential long-term crane numbers in Auckland remained steady, supported by a continued development pipeline from developers such as Simplicity Living, which added two new tower cranes to its latest Morningside project.

Consistent with the previous quarter, Tier 2 contractors Kalmar and CMP continue to lead the Auckland crane count, while many Tier 1 contractors maintain historically low levels of crane activity.

The total value of building work put in place in 2025 in Auckland was down 8.4 per cent compared to 2024

(to $12.5 billion). The number of new Auckland building consents has risen, up 13.3 per cent in the year ended January 2026 (to 15,779 dwellings).

Current activity by sector:

  • Aged Care: Metlifecare Gulf Rise; Summerset Village
  • Civic: Domestic Processor -Buildings and Piers (4 cranes); Te Hono Community Centre & Library project
  • Civil: Orakei Infrastructure and Pedestrian Works (5 cranes); Bledisloe wharf extension (4 cranes); Ō Mahurangi – Penlink Project (4 cranes); Glen Innes Station Pedestrian Overbridge; Rosedale Park; SH1 Papakura to Drury Motorway Upgrade; Watercare Central Interceptor (5 cranes); Watercare Mid-Town
  • Commercial: Fisher and Paykel Healthcare; 35 Graham Street; Orams Marine Building and Retail
  • Data Centres / Industrial: Puhinui Road, Wiri
  • Education: Carlaw Park Student Village (2 cranes)
  • Health: Allevia Health – Urology Institute; Kakariki Stage 2 Development; MPI; Middlemore Hospital.
  • Hotel: DoubleTree Hilton; Moxy Hotel
  • Residential: Simplicity Living, Ascot Avenue, (2 cranes); Simplicity Living Morningside (2 cranes); 87 Shelly Beach Road, Saint Mary’s Bay; Chelsea  Rise Apartments; Elysian Apartments; Kensington Park; Orakei Residential House; Ockham “Station M”; Pompallier on Ponsonby; 819 Riddell Road, St Heliers; Seascape Custom Street Residential; Sero Apartments; The Domain Collection; The Hill; York House

Cranes were removed from:

  • Aged Care: Huapai Country Club; Metlifecare Fairway Gardens; Parkside Village – Metlifecare; Summerset Village; The Foundation Village Stage 2
  • Civil: Watercare Central Interceptor (7 cranes); Central Plant & Tunnel Auckland Hospital
  • Commercial: Fisher & Paykel Appliances HQ (2 cranes); Fisher and Paykel Healthcare
  • Data Centres / Industrial: HV2 CDC Data Centre (3 cranes); Hobsonville Road
  • Residential: The Viridian (2 cranes); 161 Hendon Avenue, Mount Roskill; Fabric 2 Apartments; Fiore 5; Reiputa – Simplicity Living

Q1 2026

Summary

Region Change
AUCKLAND -1
Sector Change
AGED CARE -5
CIVIC 1
CIVIL 4
COMMERCIAL -2
DATA CENTRES -3
EDUCATION 2
HEALTH 2
HOTEL 0
MIXED USE N/A
RECREATION N/A
RESIDENTIAL 0
RETAIL N/A
Increase in number of cranes
Decrease in number of cranes
Crane numbers steady

Q1 2026

Crane Activity

By Region

OPENING / CLOSING COUNT COMPARISON

OPENING COUNT MOVEMENT CLOSING COUNT
Q3 2025 % NET Q1 2026 %
AUCKLAND 59 50.9% 26 -27 -1 58 56.9%

By Sector

OPENING / CLOSING COUNT COMPARISON

OPENING COUNT MOVEMENT CLOSING COUNT
Q3 2025 % NET Q1 2026 %
AGED CARE 7 11.9% 0 -5 -5 2 3.4%
CIVIC 4 6.8% 1 0 1 5 8.6%
CIVIL 18 30.5% 13 -9 4 22 37.9%
COMMERCIAL 5 8.5% 1 -3 -2 3 5.2%
DATA CENTRES 4 6.8% 1 -4 -3 1 1.7%
EDUCATION 0 0.0% 2 0 2 2 3.4%
HEALTH 2 3.4% 2 0 2 4 6.9%
HOTEL 2 3.4% 0 0 0 2 3.4%
MIXED USE 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 0.0%
RECREATION 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 0.0%
RESIDENTIAL 17 28.8% 6 -6 0 17 29.3%
RETAIL 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 0.0%
TOTAL 59 50.9% 26 -27 -1 58 56.9%

RLB CRANE INDEX®

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