EDMONTON – BUSINESS – One of the economic indicators are auction sales. The impact of the pandemic across Canada can be seen in the large sales of heavy construction equipment at a recent Richie Bros auction.
“Auction after auction we continue to drive record demand, and our Edmonton event proved that if you have equipment to sell, we have lots of eager buyers waiting,” said Trent Vandenberghe, Regional Sales Manger, Ritchie Bros. “We saw particularly strong pricing last week in Edmonton for earthmoving equipment, with skid steers, multi-terrain loaders, excavators, motor scrapers, and dozers leading the way. It’s a seller’s market right now and we have a ton of great consignment options available, with hybrid onsite/online auctions, weekly online featured events, and Marketplace-E.”
Approximately 92% of the equipment in the Edmonton May auction was sold to buyers in Canada, including 53% sold to Alberta, 15% to British Columbia, and 9% to Saskatchewan. The remaining 8% of the equipment was sold to International buyers from as far away as Belgium, Chile, India, and Thailand. With 100% online bidding, customers completed more than 1.8 million equipment views—up 64% from May 2020—and made 30,000+ PriorityBids in the Edmonton sale.
Five Big Sellers:
- 2013 Caterpillar 627H motor scraper – CA$475,000 (US$386,698)
- 2008 Sandvik CH440 Hydrocone cone crusher – CA$450,000 (US$366,345)
- 2014 Caterpillar D8T dozer – CA$440,000 (US$358,204)
- 2019 Vaderstad Seed Hawk 45-series 60-ft air drill – CA$420,000 (CA$341,922)
- 2014 Kenworth C500 T/A tri-drive w/ a National NBT45TM boom truck – CA$367,500 (US$299,182)
Equipment in the Edmonton online auction was sold for a record 1,750+ consignors, including 30 items for Calgary-based Mike Vail Trucking Ltd.
“We like the hassle-free aspect of working with Ritchie Bros.,” said Michael Vail, Owner and General Manager of Mike Vail Trucking. “We make sure the equipment is work-ready, drop it off at the site, and Ritchie Bros. takes care of everything else. Typically, we sell in the Edmonton spring auction because bigger auctions draw more attention and this year was no different. We were very happy with the results.”
AUCTION QUICK FACTS: EDMONTON, AB (MAY 2021)
- Gross Transaction Value (GTV): CA$197+ million (US$162+ million)
- Total Registered Bidders: 28,700+ *NEW COMPANY RECORD
- Total Number of Lots: 13,600+ *NEW COMPANY RECORD
- Total Number of Consignors: 1750+ *NEW COMPANY RECORD
Ritchie Bros. will sell more than 60,000 equipment items and trucks in its upcoming auctions, including a Toronto, ONauction on May 11 – 14; Chilliwack, BC on May 25 – 26; and Montreal, QC on May 26 – 27. The company also has weekly featured online auctions at IronPlanet.com and a daily reserved option with Marketplace-E.
