The answer was clear: rigorously enforced axle loading limits make it impossible, in many markets, to offer all three of these taxi crane characteristics in one crane. Capacity and reach are technical problems that crane manufacturers are well able to tackle; roadability is a regulatory problem that crane owners must face up to.

It’s a problem that has been described to me before by some of the most experienced figures in the industry. Once, the punishment for going over axle limits could be put down as a cost of doing business: a minor financial slap on the wrist.

Now operators driving a crane over limits don’t face a small fine, but the potential loss of their driving licence, and their career. That’s a risk that no crane owner should ask their operators to bear.

One solution is to select a fleet of cranes that, while maybe not each able to do every job, can between them offer a mix of reach and capacity within local axle limits. Increasingly manufacturers are launching new models in variants aimed at either capacity or reach, within the same limits.

In markets like mainland Europe and the USA, divergent regulations erect barriers to trade across borders. Here, trailers, dollies, and clever systems for quickly changing configurations can allow owners to extend the geographic reach of their fleet.

But owners shouldn’t just accept the regulations as they stand. While there may be a need for tight limits on normal goods vehicles, cranes should be treated differently. Just focussing on axle limits means cranes must be longer, increasing congestion. Trucks aim to spend as much time as possible on the road, and work in a standard configuration; cranes aim to spend as much time as possible at the job site, and require a flexible design. Regulations should reflect this difference.

Crane owners around the world have successfully made this argument. In Hong Kong and Singapore, owners of specialist equipment like crane can apply for licences allowing travel over normal limits. In Britain, a special category of licence allows heavier vehicles on the road, within restricted speed limits.

In both the USA and EU, organisations like ESTA and the SC&RA are working to argued for harmonised regulations. Crane owners should continue these efforts, presenting evidence of the economic impact of unnecessary variation in axle limits.

Will North Editor
wnorth@worldmarketintelligence.com