Ritchie Bros.’ December market trends report continued to show positive pricing trends across all its equipment indexes, with truck tractor prices up 55% in the United States, while medium earthmoving equipment and vocational truck prices were up 43% and 41%, respectively, for the three months ending Nov. 30.

With this month’s report, Ritchie Bros. included a special focus on loader backhoe sales in the United States and Canada. According to Ritchie Bros., median backhoe pricing is up approximately 15% in the United States.

“Loader backhoe volumes have declined, while demand has strengthened, resulting in strong pricing for the incredibly versatile machine,” Doug Olive, senior vice president of pricing at Ritchie Bros., said. “In 2016, we sold close to 3,000 backhoes in the United States. Through 11 months in 2021, we’ve only sold 1,815, but the median price has increased 15%.”

“Retail values continue to climb, having increased more than 16% since the beginning of 2021, reflecting a strong pricing environment for sellers,” Doug Rusch, managing director of Rouse Sales, said. “Transaction volumes in the retail space are also healthy and auction values have increased 3.2% in November. All signs point to strong end-market demand for machines right now.”

Source: Ritchie Bros. transactional data