You know there is major construction underway when cranes tower above. And wherever they cluster, it is a good bet that there are new homes being built.

The recent RLB Crane Index, a report on the number of construction cranes in major American and Canadian cities, found that the vast majority are currently being used to build new homes. (The report dealt only with cranes fixed in place on construction sites, not mobile cranes attached to trucks.)

Paul Brussow, executive vice president of Rider Levett Bucknall, which provides project management and consultation to the construction industry, and which produced the report, said that of the 421 cranes in active use, 305 (or 72 percent) are being used for residential projects or mixed-use projects that include homes.

Of all the cities in the report, Toronto came out way ahead — both in the total number of cranes in use (97, up from 88 in January and 72 a year ago) and in the number being used to build homes (85).