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By Seth Skydel
A number of factors continue to impact the market for used cranes:
Longer lead times on new machines—well over a year in some cases—means that crane companies are holding onto older machines, driving down availability.
Crane availability also affects pricing for quality used units, raising resale values, while high interest rates are making investing in used machines more expensive.
The use crane market is also being impacted by new emissions regulations, where in states like California there is a limit on the age of a used machine.
A slowdown in demand for used cranes in overseas markets, a traditional source of older machine sales, is the result of the strength of the dollar. In addition, with high ocean freight costs and higher overseas interest rate financing, it has been harder to move older used cranes offshore.
Dealer Perspectives
“Good, used cranes are scarce and the market knows it,” said Jeff Swan, VP at Exact Crane & Equipment Corp. “As a purchaser of used equipment, we’re paying more for 2- to 7-year-old machines because they’re holding their value due to demand and lack of availability. At the same time, demand has slowed for 12- to 20-year-old cranes and prices seem to be decreasing.”
“Due to increases in new crane pricing and high interest rates, the price of 10-year-old or younger used cranes is staying strong,” said Pramod Agarwal, owner at Crane Dude. “Certain cranes with low engine hours are selling near the price of new. Residual value of cranes older than 12 years have not necessarily increased, but they are not on the lot for too long when put up for sale. The current market is allowing these cranes to move faster when they are priced correctly.”
At Coastline Equipment, a part of the Bragg Companies with 11 locations in California, Idaho and Nevada, Neil Goodale, division manager, said the average age of used machines is between 3 and 4 years.
“Those units continue to hold their value,” Goodale said. “Pricing on used equipment is not dropping. At the same time, the cost of new equipment has risen for the past several years. That has had the effect of used values staying in line with higher new machine prices.”
Select Crane Sales specializes in the sale of new and used cranes at three locations in Florida, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, and according to Jason MacKenzie, president, pricing is also impacting the market.
“Along with continued production delays pushing lead times, we are also seeing multiple price increases in order to keep up with the cost of raw material and components,” MacKenzie added. “That is one of the main factors for the increased cost of used equipment. Whether we are looking to purchase for our own inventory or for a client, sellers are now asking for more.”
New Approaches
Matt Greenspan, business development and sales at Dozier Crane & Machinery, Inc. pointed out that while the company has become better at finding quality used cranes, customers are more understanding.
“In the pre-COVID era if a customer called and said they wanted a specific machine it was our job to find it,” Greenspan explained further. “Now, customers are more accepting of alternatives based on the market at that time.”
When a used unit is available, Jeff Swan advised, the best way to sell it is to get it online. “Buyers are all over the Internet searching these days,” he said. “If it's listed on crane sales sites, it'll be found by the end user. In all cases, though, to get more out of a used machine in any market, it needs to be taken care of, including cleaned and properly maintained.”
Presentation is very important, agreed Pramod Agarwal. “Used cranes must look good and be backed by historical maintenance records,” he said. “And in the crane industry, as much as good cranes or the price, it’s also about customer relationships. You must continuously stay in communication.”
Neil Goodale noted that Coastline Equipment continues to find buyers by cultivating a digital marketing footprint. At the same time, Jason MacKenzie recommended that companies selling equipment look to respected, full-service dealers to get higher retail values and faster sales.
At Dozier Crane, consistency has led to success in finding, buying, marketing, and selling used cranes. “Even as we’ve seen some of the biggest economic ups and down in history, our goal is to not change our approach,” Matt Greenspan said. “The real key is to continue to hit the market as hard as we can using all the avenues available to us.”
Manufacturers
Crane manufacturers are actively involved in the used crane market by offering a variety of remarketing programs through dealer networks, including trade-in, rental-purchase, and refurbish-repair-rebuild programs.
The Manitowoc EnCORE program offers used crane rebuilding, repair or remanufacturing to OEM specifications at about 65% of the cost of a new crane. The success of the program has led to its expansion with new EnCORE partners in North America and globally.
At Liebherr, an extensive used crane program and dedicated sales team operates with direct support from the company’s factory in Germany.
Other sources for valuable used crane advice and buying and selling opportunities include auctioneers, including Jeff Martin Auctioneers and Ritchie Bros.
Seth Skydel is a writer with 38 years of experience covering the trucking, utility, construction, and related markets.
