During construction in major cities, you can usually glance up and see cranes hard at work. In recent months, Seattle’s skyline has been packed with cranes.  There are so many cranes throughout the city of Seattle that they seem to be part of the landscape, dangling hundreds of feet above the streets.

Seattle is working hard to create apartments, condos, offices, and hotels, resulting in the high number of cranes scattered through the city. In summer 2016, Seattle had 58 construction cranes which is more than any other city in the United States.  Cities that are typically full of construction cranes on a regular basis are New York City and San Francisco, but this summer Seattle had more cranes than the two combined. In summer 2016 when Seattle had 58 construction cranes, Denver had 21, Los Angeles was running close with 40, and Boston had a mere 14. The cranes in Seattle are so close in proximity that crews have mastered the art of operating them without knocking into one another.

Over the past several years, Seattle has seen a 38% increase in the amount of cranes that are performing work in the city. As a direct result, the city of Seattle has been running low on cranes and operators. Many surrounding construction companies have been at a loss, struggling to find cranes for projects.

The massive amount of cranes being used downtown has other construction companies facing an eight month wait for a crane which is twice the average wait. Despite the high demand for cranes in Seattle, the price has only risen slightly which is good news for smaller construction companies that could not afford a massive increase.

Local artists have actually made artwork inspired by the massive amount of cranes in downtown Seattle which are clearly getting a significant amount of attention. You can check out of some the local artwork for yourself.

Cranes are a hot commodity in Seattle right now. They are intended for major construction projects and Seattle has plenty of them. A local crane provider in Seattle said that he has reservations for projects spanning into next April. Many of the skyline cranes already have their next jobs waiting.