Ritchie Bros. held its sixth and final auction of the year in Edmonton this week, selling more than C$82 million ($62 million) of equipment and trucks over three days, bringing its 2018 total to more than 41,400 items sold for more than C$639 million ($491 million) — up 15% from 2017.

The December 11 – 13, 2018 auction attracted more than 9,350 bidders from 50 countries, including more than 7,500 people who registered to bid online. Approximately 87% of the equipment was sold to Canadian buyers, including 75% sold to Western Canadians. International buyers from such countries as Malaysia, Australia, and the United Kingdom purchased 13%. Online buyers purchased approximately 66% of the assets sold.

“2018 has been a year of changes and challenges for many of our customers in Western Canada, resulting in a lot of buying and selling activity,” said Brian Glenn, SVP, head of Sales Canada, Ritchie Bros. “This week in Edmonton we witnessed pricing pressure on oil & gas industry-specific assets as customers across this sector are positioning themselves for fluctuating activity levels heading into 2019. Meanwhile, core construction assets continued to bring solid returns in a still-challenging supply market. Forestry and highway transportation-related assets also performed well this week, continuing a trend we’ve seen over the last number of events in Western Canada.”

Glenn continued, “We would like to thank all the customers who continue to put their trust in Ritchie Bros. to deliver unmatched selection and our ability to market and re-deploy their assets to buyers around the world.”
More than 760 owners sold equipment in the Edmonton December auction, including a selection of late-model heavy construction equipment from Richardson Bros. Olds Ltd., a heavy civil service contractor based in Olds, Alberta.

“Once again Ritchie Bros. did a great job selling our equipment,” said Frank Richardson of Richardson Bros. Olds Ltd. “We’ve been selling with Ritchie Bros. for years and keep coming back because the values they get us are better than anything we’re offered for trade ins. They have a really good understanding of the market and their auctioneers always do their best to get us every last bid.”