The Crane Industry Council of Australia Board President Ben Pieyre says there is a lot to be optimistic about for 2025.
It’s no secret that construction has faced challenges in 2024, and since cranes are central to so many projects, most of us have been affected in some way.
- Reduced activity: Record insolvencies in the construction sector, government funding withdrawals and tighter budgets have meant fewer opportunities for crane hire. It’s been a ripple effect across the industry, adding capacity to less affected markets.
- Higher borrowing costs: Interest rates have put pressure on the housing market. While there’s talk of boosting social housing and infrastructure projects, the private sector is still navigating tumultuous waters.
As interest rates increase, the repayments on finance for cranes, trucks, and other essential equipment materially impacts businesses, making it harder for companies to justify taking on new debt and forces refinancing, in some cases to leverage the repayments.
For smaller businesses especially, those higher repayments can impact already tight cash flow, leaving less room to invest in growth, upgrade gear, or even take on more projects. It’s a tough spot to be in – businesses need equipment to expand and grow, but the cost of borrowing prohibits growth. - Rising costs and labour market challenges: Finding skilled workers has been like searching for a needle in a haystack, and it’s putting real strain on businesses. Rising wages and the government’s approach to industrial relations are great for workers but tough on companies managing tight margins. According to the latest data, wages in the Australian construction sector increased by 3.9 per cent over the year to June 2024 which was the steepest in over a decade.
Navigating legislative changes
Fair Work laws passed in 2024 have added complexity and pressures for business owners. While the intent was to improve conditions, which were already very favourable to employees compared to most other sectors, the extra layers of compliance and costs while removing flexibility are increasing costs and impacting day-to-day operations and financial stability. These changes have had a great impact on investor confidence and increased costs on budgeted private or government projects, while the government double handed the impact by removing funding and essential infrastructure and necessary community projects.
Since 2022, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV’s) have been included within ROVER’s scope, meaning the crane industry must now comply with a prohibitive process designed for a very different vehicle market. This has created new administrative and logistical hurdles for the crane industry, as ROVER was not originally built with the unique needs of SPVs in mind.
Crane operations have unique machine requirements due to the complex and demanding nature of t lifts required. Such changes are counterproductive to the value provided by our equipment to the economy.
CICA tackling changes
Despite the challenges, there’s a lot to feel optimistic about. CICA is at the forefront, helping the industry tackle these hurdles head-on and has a lot planned for 2025.
- Lobbying: CICA has invested in engaging with government stakeholders to communicate the urgency of matters such as ROVER, HVAMS and crane operator skills shortages. By engaging and proposing viable solutions our industry will greatly benefit from fair and reasonable regulations.
- CICA Business Essentials: A workshop calendar has been put together to cover topics that help businesses sharpen their operations, boost efficiency and profitability in a competitive market. From HR, legal and accounting matters – these workshops are valuable sessions that pertain to running your business. I’d encourage you to set aside time to join the sessions online.
- CICA Diversity Network: This initiative is opening doors for under-represented groups, especially women, showing that cranes are an industry for everyone. The CICA Diversity Network is continuing to build momentum and has some big plans for 2025.
- Training and education: Programs such as the On-Road Articulated Steering Mobile Crane Training and Lift Supervisor Course equip workers with skills that keep us safe, competitive, and ready for the future.
2024 tested us. But if there is one thing about our industry that stands out, it is resilience. I am hopeful and confident that our industry will navigate and adapt to achieve our goals together in 2025.