Crane Spotlight
By Seth Skydel
Tough and Ready
Rough terrain cranes are poised to support strong opportunities across multiple end-user sectors
The outlook for the rough terrain market remains positive.“ It’ s supported by several key growth drivers expected to shape demand in the coming years,” said Ernst Andreas, president of Raimondi North America.“ Ongoing critical infrastructure investments will continue to play a central role, particularly across bridge and highway developments, as well as other large-scale civil projects.
“ In parallel, reflecting broader industrial and digital transformation trends, increasing investment in data centers and the expansion of local manufacturing capabilities are emerging as important contributors to rough terrain market growth,” Andreas added.“ Additionally, the sustained momentum within the oil and gas sector is expected to further support demand for rough terrain cranes, particularly in regions where energy projects remain a key economic driver.”
John Bair, product manager for rough terrain cranes at Manitowoc, noted that fleet utilization of rough terrain cranes remains high, with operators increasingly turning to higher-capacity models to meet evolving jobsite requirements.“ Looking ahead through 2026, the outlook for the rough terrain crane market remains strong, supported by continued investment across infrastructure, energy and utility sectors,” he said.
“ North America continues to be the biggest and strongest market for rough terrain cranes, where aging infrastructure at airports, highways, bridges, water plants and more are driving the need for upgrades,” Bair continued.“ There is also the ongoing expansion of data centers, warehouses and industrial facilities that are sustaining high demand.”
“ The current state of the rough terrain market continues to show a positive trend and should meet or slightly exceed the previous year’ s performance in 2026,” said Dan Melnyk, vice president of mobile
One of Manitowoc’ s newest Grove rough terrain cranes is the 80-ton GRT780 with a 155-foot five-section full-power boom. The crane is also equipped with the manufacturer’ s MAXbase variable outrigger positioning system and the Grove CONNECT telematics and fleet management system.
crane sales- North America at Tadano.“ The market continues to see solid demand for over 100-ton capacity rough terrain cranes. At the same time, capacities in highest demand are in the 130- and 160-ton segments with AI data center and semiconductor chip plant builds, and infrastructure projects related to oil and gas, driving growth.”
“ We see solid growth in the rough terrain market, but nothing explosive, mainly due to availability and tariff issues
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May 2026 • www. cranehotline. com