Equipment Trends

By Mike Larson

To take the pulse of crane buying and financing trends, we consulted a financial services specialist and two companies that sell both new and used cranes.

One of the crane sellers is Exact Crane & Equipment Corp.

Located in the Cleveland suburb of Solon, Ohio, Exact Crane was founded in 2006 by Jack Swan, then a 30-year veteran of the crane industry.

Exact Crane sells, leases and rents all brands of used cranes, and is a dealer for Tadano, Jekko and Manitex.

We spoke with Exact Crane vice president, Jeff Swan.

The other crane seller is Select Crane Sales, LLC, which is headquartered in Fort Pierce, Florida, and has full-service branches in New Jersey and Virginia.

Select Crane sells, leases and rents all brands of used cranes, and is an authorized partner for Tadano, Terex, Manitex and Wolffkran.

We spoke with Select Crane CEO Jason MacKenzie, who founded the company in

2016 after a dozen years of experience in the crane industry.

The crane financing expert we consulted is Equify Financial, LLC, a financial services company that is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and provides flexible, tailored finance solutions for more than a dozen industries, among them construction, transportation and manufacturing.

We spoke with Equify CEO Patrick Hoiby, who founded the company in 2011 and who has worked in finance since 1988.

Crane Hot Line thanks all three experts for sharing their insights.

State of the Market

Though the bulk of customers for Exact Crane and Select Crane are in North America, each company has sold, rented and leased equipment worldwide.

Here are Swan’ s, MacKenzie’ s and Hoiby’ s thoughts about the current state of the North American market.

“ The current market for the crane industry appears consistent and stable,” said Swan.

Added MacKenzie,“ The crane bare rental market is strong, though sales have slowed. Customers are taking more time to compare options, look at financing options and make sure each crane fits their needs both financially and workwise.”

MacKenzie added that he expects the market for late-model used cranes to stay tight for 18 to 24 months as owners run their newer cranes longer.

Equify’ s Hoiby noted,“ Tariffs and economic volatility are stretching margins, so buyers are protecting cash more aggressively. That’ s driving demand for creative financing terms. Independent lenders who understand equipment values are helping operators navigate uncertainty.”

Most-Wanted Cranes

What types and sizes of crane are most in demand now?

“ Loads are getting larger and heavier, so higher-capacity cranes have been in demand,” said Exact Crane’ s Swan.“ But maintenance in confined areas has also been steady, so mini cranes, carry decks, small rough terrains and boom trucks are busy, as well.”

Swan added that this has been the year of the 160-ton rough-terrain crane.“ For the past 10 months we’ ve had three to 10 calls every couple of weeks for that size,”

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January 2026 • www. cranehotline. com