The world's 50 largest crane owners have been largely unaffected by the global economic slowdown, with fleet sizes static over the last three years and overall lifting capacities steadily increasing, according to a new report.

World Crane Report, published by KHL Group, says the number of cranes owned by the world's 50 largest crane rental companies (the IC50) has remained almost unchanged over the last four years, despite adverse economic conditions.

Since 2008, global crane numbers have ranged from 21,467 to 22,002 cranes.

The world's 50 largest crane-owning companies had a fleet of 21,896 cranes in 2012, with a total lifting capacity of some 4.98 million T. The fleet is dominated by mobile, wheeled cranes, with a ratio of 78:22 (mobiles to crawlers) in unit terms.

Although crane numbers have remained flat since 2008, the total lifting capacity of the fleet has continued to climb. At 4.98 million T in 2012, it was 47% higher than 2008 and more than 200% greater than the level in 2003.

The report says the growth in capacity over the last four years, taken with flat crane numbers, implies that companies in the IC50 have adopted a policy of replacing smaller cranes with higher-capacity units. The average lifting capacity of an IC50 crane was 227 T in 2012, compared to 158 T in 2008 and 93 T in 2003.

Report author Chris Sleight says: "It is striking that in the most difficult economic conditions experienced for the last 60 years or more, the world's largest crane owners have not only maintained their fleet sizes, but also invested heavily in increasing lifting capacity. This indicates a robust health at the top end of the global ... industry."

The World Crane Report is broadly split into two sections, one focusing on crane manufacturers, examining their financial performance, stock market performance and standing in the wider construction equipment industry. This draws on unique studies by International Cranes & Specialised Transport, like the ICM 20 league table of crane manufacturers and the IC Share Index.

The second section looks at crane owners worldwide, drawing on 10 years of data from International Cranes & Specialised Transport's IC50 ranking. This, KHL Group says, in itself is a unique study in the market, but in its report, the publishers have taken the information one step further with analysis of long-term trends in the industry.

It analyses changes in fleet size and composition, lifting capacity, employment, number of locations and how those factors play into the wider economic picture.

The analysis has been carried out for the global IC50 group, with separate sections on major crane owners in Europe and North America.

The World Crane Report is available for sale at www.khl-infostore.com.