Why economists should study the elevator industry

April 20, 2026

North America has an elevator problem. Elevators are more expensive to install and maintain in the United States and Canada than elsewhere in the developed world. According to this report by the Center for Building in North America, these higher costs are driven in part by the fact that the U.S. and Canada use a different elevator code than most of the rest of the world. This divergence in code adoption acts as a barrier to entry, reducing competition in the markets for elevator manufacturing, installation, and maintenance.

Here is the argument broken down:

The United States and Canada use versions of the ASME A17.1/CSA B44 elevator code, while most of the rest of the world uses the European/global standard, EN 81 / ISO 8100.
Elevators that are considered “up to code” must go through an expensive certification process. For an elevator to be certified, all of its components must comply with the safety requirements specified in the relevant code. As a result, a firm that wants to supply elevators both in North America and internationally must certify its components twice. As described in the Center for Building in North America’s report:

The testing process to ensure compliance with either standard is expensive, so the ability for a manufacturer to produce a product that complies with the applicable rules does not guarantee that the product will actually be certified for use in all markets. Successfully obtaining certification for a component in Europe more easily allows its use across nearly the entire world, in countries with well over 10 million installed elevators, including the massive Chinese market. Obtaining certification in North America, on the other hand, only opens up a market of a little more than 1 million installed units—about the size of the Italian market.
Only a small number of companies choose to pursue certification in the U.S. and Canada. As a result, competition in North America is weaker than elsewhere in the world, including in installation and maintenance. It is common practice among North American suppliers to require that replacement parts be purchased directly from them, or that repairs be performed exclusively by their own technicians. This is closely related to the concerns raised by advocates of “right to repair.”

Elevators are a durable input into real estate development, and their suppliers operate in a market with limited competition. Landlords report rising operating costs, and it is reasonable to suspect that elevator depreciation and maintenance costs play a role. Housing supply and affordability are therefore linked—at least in part—to the structure of the elevator market. Economists studying real estate, housing policy, and housing affordability should pay greater attention to this sector.

Economists are trained to answer questions such as, “What happens to prices when barriers to entry are removed?” Policymakers would benefit from systematic analysis of how elevator prices, maintenance costs, and the overall cost of building multifamily housing might change if U.S. states were to adopt the European/global standard (EN 81 / ISO 8100).