Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers conducted its largest agriculture auction of 2014 yesterday in Saskatoon, SK (December 2), selling more than CA$41 million (US$36+ million) of equipment and trucks in a single day. The unreserved public auction also set new Saskatoon site records for: online gross auction proceeds (CA$20+ million or US$18+ million), total number of registered bidders (4,550+) and number of online bidders (close to 2,900). Every item in the auction was sold without minimum bids or reserve prices.
"This is the second largest agricultural auction we've ever held and our largest this year," said Jordan Clarke, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "It was the best inventory we've had in Saskatoon all year, and we saw interested bidders from around the world competitively bidding on the equipment, which came from good, high-end quality homes. We had a huge crowd on site and a lot of participation online too, with strong prices across the board."
More than 4,550 bidders from 32 countries, including all Canadian provinces and two territories and 33 U.S. states, registered to participate in person or online in the auction. Bidders from outside Saskatchewan purchased close to CA$15 million (US$13+ million) or 36 percent of total gross auction proceeds. Close to 2,900 of the bidders taking part in the auction registered to bid online and purchased more than CA$20 million (US$18+ million) of equipment available online.
Equipment highlights in the auction included 90+ headers, 90+ combines, 85+ tractors and more.