combusean
Jul 13, 2007, 6:22 PM
Not sure if this should belong in B&A--mods can decide this one for me. Either way, it's a good story and the link has a good video. May our time as a Real City come soon.
High-rise boom straining supply of cranes (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0713cranes0713.html)
Jahna Berry
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 13, 2007 12:00 AM
The pace of the Valley's growth is sky high, and so is the cost of getting there.
Cranes, the ubiquitous symbol of progress, are in such high demand that to rent one locally can cost up to $65,000 per day. Those who want to rent may have to cross state lines, and those in the market to buy can expect to wait as long as 18 months. Even the people who operate them are a hot commodity.
That affects the Valley, where cranes are clustered in downtown Phoenix and Tempe and sitting in Scottsdale and Glendale and elsewhere.
The symbolism is especially powerful in downtown Phoenix, which hasn't seen this kind of growth in five decades, economist Elliott Pollack said.
"Downtown, for the first time since the 1950s, will be viable," he said. "In Phoenix, historically you have mid-rises, for which you didn't need (tall) cranes. Now, you have high-rise construction outside the Central Corridor."
Brisk business
Although the housing market has flagged during the past few months, other types of construction - offices, hotels, road upgrades - has been brisk.
Projects include the 32-story Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel and mid-rises such as W Scottsdale Hotel & Residences and hotels in Glendale.
But the demand for cranes stretches far beyond the Valley. Equipment is in short supply in almost every region in the United States and in other countries.
Northern California refineries need heavy equipment. Arizona copper mines are booming. Resorts are going up in Las Vegas, and highway projects are everywhere.
Overseas, megaprojects including the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the relentless tide of construction in Dubai have siphoned cranes.
"This is the best that it's been in 20 years," said Neil Goodale, a regional vice president for Maxim Crane, a rental firm that furnishes construction equipment around the world and in the Valley.
Although some companies have their own cranes, many construction outfits rent machinery because it may not be cost effective to maintain its own fleet, contractors say. "As population grows, you see roadwork that requires bridges, expanded water-treatment plants, schools and shopping centers," Goodale said.
Prices soar
Here in the Valley, cranes are in high demand and prices have risen, said Mike Gausden, Western division executive vice president of Hunt Construction Group, which is building the Phoenix Convention Center's North Building.
Now, large cranes can cost anywhere from $25,000 to as much as $65,000 a day to rent, an expense that ramps up a project's final cost. That ultimately is passed on to the client who pays for the project. In some cases, that's taxpayers, particularly for publicly funded projects such as the $600 million Convention Center and the $350 million Sheraton hotel in Phoenix.
When Hunt needed a crane to help build the $90 million, 225-room W Scottsdale Hotel, the company had to settle for a brand that the crane operator preferred not to use. The crane they wanted wasn't available, Gausden said.
In less busy times, Hunt could have picked any crane it wanted, Gausden said.
Cranes are essential for many construction projects. Small truck cranes can lift a commercial air-conditioning unit and huge T-shaped tower cranes help build skyscrapers.
Dealers that sell cranes can charge as little as $100,000 for a small truck crane to $2 million for a crawler that can lift 300 tons, said Dan Mardian, president of Phoenix's Marco Crane & Rigging Co. His firm rents and sells cranes.
With demand so high, crane manufacturers are taking longer to fill orders, he said. Orders that once took 90 days to six months now can take from six months to as much as 18 months, he said.
In the hunt for machinery, companies often cross state lines, said Ken Schacherbauer vice president of operations for Perini Building Co.
"It's not uncommon to bring equipment from one state to another," Schacherbauer said.
Although many construction companies rent cranes, Perini recently bought about a dozen in anticipation of the recent shortage, Schacherbauer said. Perini also rents cranes, he added.
In addition to building the 1,000-room Sheraton hotel in downtown Phoenix, Perini is building MGM Mirage's 76-acre CityCenter project in Las Vegas, which has more than 20 cranes on it now, he said.
Help wanted
"The biggest shortage we have are operators who are experienced to operate the crane," Schacherbauer said.
Seasoned workers can make good wages, said Jeff "Jay" Stevens, financial secretary for Local 428 of the International Union of Operating Engineers. The union guarantees operators base wage depending on the local's negotiated contract. That wage can be more than $23 an hour, not including negotiated benefits, Stevens said.
That's nearly $50,000 a year, working eight-hour shifts. But it also is common for operators to work longer shifts, such as 10 hours, Stevens said.
Construction firms say it's common for them to pay far more than that, as much as $30 an hour, to entice experienced crane operators to a job.
Other factors help fuel the demand for operators, Stevens said. Most heavy-equipment operators are specialized; although some know how to operate one type of crane, they may not be able to operate others, he said.
Now, there are 120 people in the union's apprenticeship program who are learning to operate heavy equipment, including cranes, said Stevens of Local 428.
In such a tight labor market, it's unlikely that they will have trouble landing jobs.
"There's always a demand (for workers)," Stevens said.
High-rise boom straining supply of cranes (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0713cranes0713.html)
Jahna Berry
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 13, 2007 12:00 AM
The pace of the Valley's growth is sky high, and so is the cost of getting there.
Cranes, the ubiquitous symbol of progress, are in such high demand that to rent one locally can cost up to $65,000 per day. Those who want to rent may have to cross state lines, and those in the market to buy can expect to wait as long as 18 months. Even the people who operate them are a hot commodity.
That affects the Valley, where cranes are clustered in downtown Phoenix and Tempe and sitting in Scottsdale and Glendale and elsewhere.
The symbolism is especially powerful in downtown Phoenix, which hasn't seen this kind of growth in five decades, economist Elliott Pollack said.
"Downtown, for the first time since the 1950s, will be viable," he said. "In Phoenix, historically you have mid-rises, for which you didn't need (tall) cranes. Now, you have high-rise construction outside the Central Corridor."
Brisk business
Although the housing market has flagged during the past few months, other types of construction - offices, hotels, road upgrades - has been brisk.
Projects include the 32-story Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel and mid-rises such as W Scottsdale Hotel & Residences and hotels in Glendale.
But the demand for cranes stretches far beyond the Valley. Equipment is in short supply in almost every region in the United States and in other countries.
Northern California refineries need heavy equipment. Arizona copper mines are booming. Resorts are going up in Las Vegas, and highway projects are everywhere.
Overseas, megaprojects including the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the relentless tide of construction in Dubai have siphoned cranes.
"This is the best that it's been in 20 years," said Neil Goodale, a regional vice president for Maxim Crane, a rental firm that furnishes construction equipment around the world and in the Valley.
Although some companies have their own cranes, many construction outfits rent machinery because it may not be cost effective to maintain its own fleet, contractors say. "As population grows, you see roadwork that requires bridges, expanded water-treatment plants, schools and shopping centers," Goodale said.
Prices soar
Here in the Valley, cranes are in high demand and prices have risen, said Mike Gausden, Western division executive vice president of Hunt Construction Group, which is building the Phoenix Convention Center's North Building.
Now, large cranes can cost anywhere from $25,000 to as much as $65,000 a day to rent, an expense that ramps up a project's final cost. That ultimately is passed on to the client who pays for the project. In some cases, that's taxpayers, particularly for publicly funded projects such as the $600 million Convention Center and the $350 million Sheraton hotel in Phoenix.
When Hunt needed a crane to help build the $90 million, 225-room W Scottsdale Hotel, the company had to settle for a brand that the crane operator preferred not to use. The crane they wanted wasn't available, Gausden said.
In less busy times, Hunt could have picked any crane it wanted, Gausden said.
Cranes are essential for many construction projects. Small truck cranes can lift a commercial air-conditioning unit and huge T-shaped tower cranes help build skyscrapers.
Dealers that sell cranes can charge as little as $100,000 for a small truck crane to $2 million for a crawler that can lift 300 tons, said Dan Mardian, president of Phoenix's Marco Crane & Rigging Co. His firm rents and sells cranes.
With demand so high, crane manufacturers are taking longer to fill orders, he said. Orders that once took 90 days to six months now can take from six months to as much as 18 months, he said.
In the hunt for machinery, companies often cross state lines, said Ken Schacherbauer vice president of operations for Perini Building Co.
"It's not uncommon to bring equipment from one state to another," Schacherbauer said.
Although many construction companies rent cranes, Perini recently bought about a dozen in anticipation of the recent shortage, Schacherbauer said. Perini also rents cranes, he added.
In addition to building the 1,000-room Sheraton hotel in downtown Phoenix, Perini is building MGM Mirage's 76-acre CityCenter project in Las Vegas, which has more than 20 cranes on it now, he said.
Help wanted
"The biggest shortage we have are operators who are experienced to operate the crane," Schacherbauer said.
Seasoned workers can make good wages, said Jeff "Jay" Stevens, financial secretary for Local 428 of the International Union of Operating Engineers. The union guarantees operators base wage depending on the local's negotiated contract. That wage can be more than $23 an hour, not including negotiated benefits, Stevens said.
That's nearly $50,000 a year, working eight-hour shifts. But it also is common for operators to work longer shifts, such as 10 hours, Stevens said.
Construction firms say it's common for them to pay far more than that, as much as $30 an hour, to entice experienced crane operators to a job.
Other factors help fuel the demand for operators, Stevens said. Most heavy-equipment operators are specialized; although some know how to operate one type of crane, they may not be able to operate others, he said.
Now, there are 120 people in the union's apprenticeship program who are learning to operate heavy equipment, including cranes, said Stevens of Local 428.
In such a tight labor market, it's unlikely that they will have trouble landing jobs.
"There's always a demand (for workers)," Stevens said.