ACT 100: The most comprehensive ever

The 2017 ACT100 is the most comprehensive ever. Comparing the 2017 ACT100 to the 2016 ACT100 reveals some interesting analysis.

First off, the ACT100 total capacity grew substantially this year to 2,365,967 US tons, up 198,907 tons from 2,167,070 in 2016. Last year the total capacity only grew a mere 13,319 tons over 2015. The growth can be attributed to new, higher capacity cranes and fleet additions.

While this is good news, the market is still relatively flat. It’s apparent companies on the list did a lot of consolidation and cut their workforces. The number of branches grew from 694 in 2016 to 697 this year. The number of employees fell from 33,772 in 2016 to 29,289 in 2017. This is the second year in a row that employee totals fell. In 2015, the ACT100 employee count was 37,040.

In terms of crawler cranes, the number of these units went down by 111 in 2017. Our list shows 2,935 crawlers in 2017 as compared to 3,046 in 2017.

Surprisingly, the number of mobile cranes also did not grow. There was actually a retraction in the number of these units. In 2016 we showed 14,913 mobile cranes and this year the total is 14,679. We understand a big sell off of rough terrain cranes may be a reason for the mobile crane total falling.

For the 12th time, Maxim Crane Works is Number 1 on the ACT100, with an estimated ACT index of 680,700 tons. This year we had to go with an estimate as Maxim is amid another large-scale acquisition that has not yet closed. Our estimate is based on deals that did close in 2016-2017, including the acquisition of AmQuip and Essex Crane Rental. With those acquisitions Maxim’s ACT index grew by an estimated 242,611 tons, from 438,089 tons in 2016. Maxim’s total fleet size of mobile and crawler cranes is and estimated 3,015 units.

Number 2 on the list is the All Erection Family of Companies posting an index of 175,121, slightly down from their 2017 index of 178,121. Lampson International remained at Number 3 while Bigge jumped to Number 4 and Mammoet North America moved to Number 5.

The 2017 ACT100 welcomes 14 new companies to the list, with Dielco Crane Service entering at Number 38, Bengal Crane & Rigging at Number 71, Landwehr Construction at Number 72, McRay Crane & Rigging at Number 73, Tim’s Crane & Rigging at Number 80, Custom Service Crane at Number 81, Crane Rental Company at Number 83, Rozell Industries at Number 84, D.C. Crane Service at Number 86, Iron Stag Crane Service at 91, Davco Companies at Number 92, Carl Belt at Number 96, Advanced Rigging and Machinery Movers at 99 and Custom Crane Solutions rounding out the newcomers at number 100 on the ACT100. There are actually 102 companies on the list this year because of a three-way tie at Number 71 between Alliance Rigging & Constructions, Bengal Crane & Rigging and Lagrange Crane Service.

Mergers and acquisitions continue to impact the ACT100 with long-time companies missing this year as they were folded into some of the larger firms.

Top gainers on the ACT100 are Buckner Heavy Lift, which moved from 15 to 8; Entrec Corporation, which moved from 24 to 11; Beyel Brothers from 30 to 21; Kelley Equipment of Florida from 37 to 31; Northwest Crane Service from 43 to 34; Southwest Industrial Rigging from 47 to 36; Transportes y Gruas Auriga from 46 to 40; Big B Crane from 62 to 42; CraneWorks Inc. from 50 to 45; Edwards from 54 to 47; Crane Works Inc. from 77 to 51; Clark Rigging from 57 to 51; Ideal Crane Rental from 57 to 53; Giuffre Bros. from 64 to 55; JJ Curran from 70 to 61; Connelly from 69 to 64; Crane Service from 75 to 67; LaGrange Crane from 84 to 71; A Quick Pick from 81 to 74; I.B. Dickinson from 83 to 75; JK Crane from 80 to 76; Southern Crane from 86 to 77; Atlas Crane from 87 to 78; Anglemeyer from 85 to 79; and PSC Crane & Rigging from 97 to 89. No companies made substantial drops on the ACT100.

The largest crawler crane fleet in North America now belongs to Maxim Crane Works with 475 of these units. Lampson International has had the largest crawler fleet for 11 years, but Maxim’s aggressive acquisition strategy allowed them to jump to Number 1. Maxim also has the largest mobile fleet with 475 units followed by ALL Erection with 1,985 mobile crane units.

The largest crane on the ACT100 is Mammoet’s 5,000-ton capacity PTC 200 DS. Other heavy lift cranes on the ACT100 are the 3,000-ton capacity Lampson LTL-3000 and the 2,500 ton TC-36000 Versa Crane owned by Deep South Crane & Rigging. And as said previously, Buckner HeavyLift’s new 2,000-ton capacity Liebherr LR 11350-P makes its debut on the top 10 list. Buckner added two new 2,000-ton capacity Liebherr LR 11350-P models to its fleet this year. In the top 10 largest capacity cranes, Liebherr had the most on the list with six.

In terms of the most popular cranes in the category of largest crane in fleet the Manitowoc brand ranks highest. There are 38 Manitowoc, Grove or National branded cranes on the list and 35 Liebherr branded cranes listed as the largest crane in fleet. There were 17 Terex/Demag models, three Tadanos, three Link-Belts and two Kobelcos. The most popular crane is the Manitowoc Grove 7550 with 12 companies reporting this is the largest crane in their fleet. In some cases differing capacities were listed for the same machines. We rely on the information supplied to us in determining these capacities as rigging variables can change these totals.

Methodology
ACT sent surveys to close to 500 companies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. While the ACT100 is much more comprehensive than it was when we started it 12 years ago, we realize there are probably 10 to 15 major crane-owning companies not represented on the ACT100. Some companies do not want to share information about their fleets and we respect their decision.

You will see an asterisk by two companies. For these entries, we didn’t necessarily get updated information and instead relied on an estimate formula based on data obtained last year and through other sources.

All of these companies on the list were contacted, some several times, and given the opportunity to supply fleet information and related data. In some cases, in the largest crane category, differing capacities were listed for the same machines. We rely on the information supplied to determine these capacities as rigging variables can change the capacity of the crane.

Because the vast majority of crane-owning companies are privately held, it can be difficult to obtain and verify figures, although we do approach independent industry sources for assistance and use related web resources and research when we use an estimate.

Disclaimer
American Cranes & Transport relies on the integrity of the companies that participate in this list, wholly assuming that the information they provide is accurate and truthful to the best of their knowledge.

We work to insure the accuracy of the information provided but take no responsibility for errors or omissions. We will continue to work to make the ACT100 the most comprehensive list of crane-owning companies in North America.

Companies are ranked by their ACT100 Index, which is calculated by adding together the maximum lifting capacities in U.S. tons of all crawler cranes and mobile cranes in a company’s fleet.