Ritchie Bros. conducted its third Edmonton, AB, auction of the year, selling more than 7,400 equipment items and trucks for $54 million.
More than 10,100 people from 49 countries registered to bid in the June 20–22, event, including 8,300 online bidders. Approximately 89 percent of the equipment in the auction was sold to Canadian buyers, with buyers from Alberta purchasing 59 percent, while international buyers from countries such as Australia, Greece, and the United Kingdom purchased 11 percent of the equipment. Online bidders purchased approximately 70 percent of the equipment.
"We continue to see strong attendance for our Edmonton auctions in 2019," said Brian Glenn, Senior Vice President, Head of Canadian Sales, Ritchie Bros. "Oilfield transportation equipment, which was the key component to our Edmonton June event, performed very well this week. However, as the landscape for construction projects continues to change in Western Canada, we did see a moderate level of pricing pressure on certain equipment categories. We are confident, as the Alberta oil and gas market gets moving again heading into fall, the landscape for our customer base will improve and demand for used equipment will continue to rise."
Glenn added, "As part of last week's auction we teamed up with Leake Auction Company to sell more than 30 collector cars, and got very strong results, including a 1966 Ford Mustang that sold for CA$67,000."
Houston Auction
Also, Ritchie Bros. sold more than 4,100 equipment items over two days for more than $42 million at its third Houston auction of the year.
More than 5,800 people registered to bid in the June 18–19 auction, including 4,500 registering to participate online. U.S. buyers purchased approximately 88 percent of the equipment, including 46 percent purchased by Texas buyers, while international buyers from such countries as Egypt, Singapore, and the United Kingdom purchased 12 percent of the equipment. Online buyers purchased 62 percent of the assets.
"We had a great selection of assets and the market was steady for good, late-model construction equipment," said Alan McVicker, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "There was a great lineup of aerial equipment that achieved solid prices as well. We're already looking forward to our next Houston sale (Aug 20-21), featuring a complete dispersal for the construction division of Glenn Fuqua, Inc. The dispersal package includes late-model construction and asphalt equipment, cranes and more. Consignments are already being added daily."