Ritchie Bros. conducted its fourth Edmonton, CA auction of 2017 and sold more than 6,600 equipment items and trucks for roughly C$75 million ($62 million) over three days.

More than 8,700 people from 52 countries registered to bid in the auction, including 6,300 people who registered to bid online.

Approximately 62% of the equipment (C$46 million or $38 million) was sold to online bidders. Canadian buyers purchased 89% of the equipment, with bidders from Alberta (57%), British Columbia (13%) and Saskatchewan (9%) being the biggest Canadian buyers. International buyers from such countries as the UK, Singapore and New Zealand purchased 11%.

“As activity levels start to pick up in the oil & gas sector owners are beginning to loosen inventories as their equipment needs are increasing and they look to upgrade,” said Trent Vandenberghe, sales director for Ritchie Bros. “We saw solid returns for our consignors this week across most categories as optimism and work outlook continue to rise. September auctions in Alberta are typically the kick off to winter work programs and we are seeing increased activity throughout our customer base here in western Canada. Our October auction in Edmonton is just over five weeks away and activity is picking up. Owners are positioning fleets and sourcing equipment as inventory and supply challenges continue.”

Equipment in the auction was sold for 945 owners. The selection included 120 compactors, 90 excavators, 40 dozers, 85 skid steers, 50 dump trucks, 45 loaders, 10 cranes, 25 agricultural tractors, 165 truck tractors and 565 trailers. All items were sold without minimum bids or reserve prices.