Crane numbers on the UK skyline drop to their lowest level in two years

Data obtained by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, shows that the number of tower cranes registered with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the first six months of this year dropped to 413. This is just over half of the number of tower cranes erected over the same period in 2011. Contractors must notify the HSE when certain types of crane are used on construction sites, with the reported figures covering most types of crane used in major projects.

Infrastructure law expert Graham Robinson of Pinsent Masons said that the lack of cranes was "symbolic of the sharp galls in new commercial and public sector construction", as well as being an indication of the UK's lack of a positive infrastructure policy.

"People often look at the number of cranes as a barometer of the health of UK construction," he said. "If that is correct, then we should be concerned. Tower cranes are generally only required for major projects so their absence from the skylines of cities around the UK tells its own story. This is forcing larger construction companies to compete for smaller projects."

Pointing out that there had been a 45% drop in the number of cranes erected in London alone over the past year, he added that "the stimulus of the Olympic Games is gone".

"We have to get clearer commitments from government on a whole raft of policy concerned with building the infrastructure that Britain needs," he said.

The figures show a particular drop in major projects in cities outside London, with an overall fall of over 50% to only 28 tower cranes erected in regional cities. Of the cities surveyed, Glasgow has seen the steepest drop in major projects with the number of new cranes erected falling by 85%.

According to Robinson, the figures showed that clearer policy statements on regional infrastructure in particular were needed in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, which will be given on 5 December.

"The Government is making some progress on infrastructure policy, for instance through the UK Guarantee Scheme," he said. "However progress remains slow and the UK Guarantee Scheme has so far not been extended to local projects. The latest crane survey highlights the impact that is having. With further declines in workload still expected, employment in construction is likely to shrink further with the prospect of further insolvencies across the sector."

Announced in July, the UK Guarantee Scheme is intended to enable major infrastructure projects which are struggling to obtain funding to take advantage of the Government's "hard-won fiscal credibility". It will be open to financially credible, nationally significant infrastructure projects, provided that work can begin on those projects within 12 months of the guarantee being given.

Problems in the construction industry have led to significant job losses across the sector, according to Pinsent Masons. Almost 400,000 workers, amounting to 16.5% of the entire UK construction sector workforce, were laid off between the start of the financial crisis in 2008 and the end of June, according to the UK Labour Force Survey. In manufacturing, by way of comparison, the workforce shrunk by 8.5% in the same period.

Robinson said that the construction sector had continued to suffer from a falling workload even as the UK economy grew by 1% in the third quarter. The latest Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) (3-page / 83KB PDF), published last week, showed that new orders had fallen for a fifth successive month while employment in the sector fell at the steepest rate since August 2011.

"The beleaguered construction sector has continued to suffer from a falling workload with output shrinking by a further 2.6% quarter-on-quarter," Robinson said. "This brings output in the sector, which is one of the UK's largest employment industries, down by 11.3% year-on-year with unemployment and insolvencies within the sector increasing as firms struggle with a massive drop in workload. Contagion within the construction supply chain is spreading with input prices for construction still rising."