Portland had just five construction cranes operating at the start of the year — the fewest in at least the past decade, a period during which the city sometimes had upwards of 30 cranes building new housing, hotels and commercial buildings.
The semiannual RLB Crane Index tracks major building projects in big cities across the country. The cranes are a useful barometer of construction activity, particularly the large, complex and expensive projects that require heavy pieces, like steel beams, lifted into place — and which can put dozens or hundreds of contractors to work on the job site on any given day.
Portland’s building trades were bustling in the years right before COVID-19, a period when interest rates were low and the region’s population was growing…