OUTLOOK

ANORAK INTEREST: Apparently in excess of 300 tower cranes are now operating full swing within the M25 conurbation and central London. What might be of technical interest to the 'anoraks' out there is the change from saddle to luffing jib in so many instances, presumably brought about by shrewd adjoining owners realising the potential from reciprocal negotiations on air rights.

DARKEST DAYS: We've come a long way since the days when negotiating with contractors meant the cheapest crane and don't worry about the neighbours. In fact in the darkest days of recession we were even being offered free issue cranage, with UK plant yards overflowing with them. Arguably, this was just another example of how the industry's internal markets continuously reshape themselves. Let us hope that paying for what you get is now here to stay and that the potentially disastrous scenario of buying work does not come creeping back.

FINGERS IN PIES: Skanska, Bouygues and Bechtel are just three of the many big international names in the news at present, who appear to be continuing to look favourably upon the UK construction market place. Fortunately they cannot simply achieve their aims by acquisition alone, though they do have the advantage of having fingers in many pies. It will be interesting to see what inroads they make into our heavy engineering and infrastructure sectors. Perhaps they are seeing rather more stability here on the building operations side including PFI than is currently the case further afield.

WAY OUT EAST: This view seems to be borne out by some of the big names operating in the Asia Pacific theatre who are re-thinking their markets out there, both short and long-term. Which brings us back to the less obvious connection between the Far East and here, as so many of those luffing jib cranes are now being brought back from operators who no longer require them abroad. In many instances these were the very same cranes which went to a booming Far East when our own recession hit hardest.

COMING HOME: The danger will be of over-stocking here once demand pressures are eased, and the intensity of the millennium deadline is gone. Perhaps those cranes will have outlived their useful lives by then. Let us hope that is not the case for those returning home after them.