What is the market for all-terrain cranes in North America?

If you are in the market for a new all-terrain crane, good luck. It could be 2024 before you can actually add an AT to your fleet, especially in the five-axle class.

While supply chain issues have eased, they are still a problem for the manufacturers of all-terrain cranes, especially those produced in Germany, which include Tadano, Liebherr and Grove. The war in Ukraine, economic problems and other issues are adversely affecting European crane production. Link-Belt is the only player in the all-terrain crane market that produces its cranes in the United States. But all the OEMs report backlogs in their all-terrain product lines.

ATs show their value in jobsite versatility with their ability to maneuver in close quarters and on all types of terrains. It gives them an advantage over other crane classes.

Bottleneck challenges

“Like a lot of manufacturers we still experience some bottleneck issues, but they are fewer than what we were dealing with at the first of the year,” said Link-Belt’s Andrew Soper. “A few items may be common to our competitors, but our build schedule has built in extended times for most of those components. Most of our issues are with vendors in North America which certainly helps in resolving as quickly as possible.”

The demand for all-terrain cranes is strong in North America, with long lead times on many classes of machines stretching out to 2024, according to Tadano’s Hutton Strader.

“The 5-axle and up models continue to be highly sought after, with demand coming from such areas as cell phone tower installation on the lower end of the capacity spectrum and wind-tower installation and maintenance on the higher end,” Strader said. “On the 4-axle and smaller size machines, we continue to see requests for taxi-crane and general construction applications.”

Liebherr’s Brian Peretin said demand for his company’s AT crane product line is steady and robust.

“The demand for all-terrain cranes remains consistently strong year-over-year,” he said. “We do not anticipate demand to ease in the foreseeable future. The five-axle cranes in our portfolio seem to be the most popular.”

Manitowoc Grove’s Josh Boyer also reports increased demand for its AT class cranes.

“ATs are showing their value in jobsite versatility,” he said. “The ability to maneuver in close quarters and all types of terrain is a leg up on other crane lines.”

Flagship status

At ConExpo, Link-Belt introduced its 300|AT, which has been well received by the market and is likely to become its “flagship AT” when these units start coming off the assembly line, Soper said.

“We got a lot of very positive reactions,” he said. “It definitely caught the eye of some end-users who might not have considered an all-terrain in the past.”

Link-Belt has produced three prototypes of the 300|AT. All three are currently amid stringent testing protocols. Until the 300|AT is in full production, Link-Belt’s best-selling AT is the 175|AT.

“Overall, inbound has not let up on our existing AT product,” said Soper. “Generally, the market is strong, although availability is always a concern.”

Understanding that the 250 to 300-ton class is the most popular, Soper said the 300|AT should compete very well in this market.

“If you look at the five-axle class as a segment of the market, it gets the highest portion of the bell curve,” Soper explained. “These cranes can move easily across North America. End-users are shooting for the best bang for their buck on five axles, with roadability as the number one priority.”

The headline for the all-terrain crane market is that it is a crane class whose market is growing, Soper said.

“There isn’t really a soft area geographically for this crane,” he added.

The 300|AT is equipped with a 7-section pin and latch greaseless formed boom and optional two-piece on-board hydraulically offset fly and two lattice extensions.

Link-Belt 300|AT

Rating: 300 tons on five axles

Main boom: 238 feet

Total boom extension: 42 to 121 feet

Maximum tip height: 369 feet

Engine: 554 hp Cummins X15

An optimal balance

Liebherr’s Peretin said crane buyers are consistently looking for the optimal balance of specifications – boom length, jibs, load chart capacity – with roadability, features and ease of assembly/disassembly all at the best value.

“I would also add that they often are looking for technological advancements that add value, safety and dependability for their companies,” said Peretin. “Examples would include VarioBase, which allows load charts specific to the outrigger configuration, or an oiled cooled clutch pack that minimizes wear and tear of the driveline during maneuvering or precise positioning of the crane on a jobsite. Liebherr is constantly delivering these types of useful technologies to our customers.”

Liebherr’s newest AT is the LTM 1100-5.3, unveiled at Bauma in October 2022 and to the American market at ConExpo in March 2023. Deliveries for this crane will begin in January of 2024, Peretin said.

Liebherr’s Simon Schuster said axle loads and axle weight distribution are very important when it comes to roadability and permits.

“In this context, the new LTM 1100-5.3, offers operators in California a particularly big advantage,” Schuster said. “It is the first and so far the only 5-axle all-terrain crane to receive CalTrans approval. This means that it is road legal in the normal driving condition, with the telescopic boom over the front. Operation with a dolly is not necessary.”

Liebherr said the 110-ton LTM 1100-5.3 offers extra safety, flexibility and lifting capacity thanks to the VarioBase variable outrigger. Greater flexibility on the construction site is also provided by the standard VarioBallast, which allows the ballast radius to be adjusted between 13 feet 1 inch and 16 feet 8 inches.

Liebherr LTM 1100-5.3

Rating: 110 tons on five axles

Main boom: 203 feet

Swing away jib: 31 to 53 feet

Maximum tip height: 249 feet

Engine: Liebherr 6-Zylinder-Diesel

Uptime reigns

Uptime is also something end users consider when buying an all-terrain crane.

“Service is a key request from our customers,” said Schuster. “Customers need to be sure that their fleet is running. Uptime is a key success factor.”

Tadano’s Strader said Tadano’s best-selling AT is its AC 5.220L-1.

“In addition to the always desirable capacity, reliability and ease of transportation requirements, customers are continually looking for longer boom lengths when evaluating which all-terrain crane to buy,” said Strader. “As an example of how Tadano is addressing this need, our new 7-axle 500-ton AC 7.450-1 is designed with a 262.5-foot main boom, which allows for impressive long reach capabilities. It also features a removable rear outrigger box and can be transported in a dolly where other cranes of this size often cannot, meaning you can show up to the jobsite with the long reach boom already installed and self-assemble your rear outrigger beams, resulting in a significant reduction of the on-site crane assembly process.”

This greatly increases the versatility, transportability and efficiency of the AT class and is very useful in states where lower axle load requirements are harder to achieve, Strader explained.

Tadano said owners effectively get a 7-axle crane in a 6-axle crane envelope that can often pick like an 8-axle, the strength and reach of a larger crane but the maneuverability of a smaller one. 

Tadano AC 7.450-1

Rating: 500 tons on seven axles

Main boom: 262.5 feet

Total boom extension: 265.8 feet

Maximum tip height: 419 feet

Engine: Mercedes Benz (EU Stage, Tier 4F)

‘Workhorse class’

Manitowoc Grove’s Boyer, said the Grove GMK5150L-1/XL is the flagship of its AT line.

“This 175-ton class is the workhorse for all manufacturers,” Boyer said. “The GMK5250L/XL series is a close second. Our customers are looking for a long-boom, high-capacity unit that can be sent to a jobsite with poor conditions and be confident the unit will be able to perform.”

Liebherr’s Schuster said that while the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine adversely impacted deliveries on all-terrain cranes, supply chain challenges are decreasing and postponed projects are getting back on track.

There is no reason to be anything but optimistic about the all-terrain crane market.

Grove said the GMK5120L is a leader in the light 5-axle crane class, resulting in flexibility and low transportation costs. This crane takes the versatility of taxi cranes to new levels, the company said.

Manitowoc Grove GMK5120L

Rating: 130 tons on five axles

Main boom: 217 feet

Total boom extension: 79 feet

Maximum tip height: 295 feet

Engine: Mercedes-Benz OM471LA, 390kW