Ritchie Bros. sold more than $46 million worth of equipment during its first Edmonton, AB auction of the year. During the three-day auction, more than 5,000 equipment items and trucks were sold to more than 8,650 people from Canada and 46 other countries.

Approximately 63% of the equipment ($29 million) was sold to online bidders. Canadian buyers purchased 85% of the equipment, with bidders from Alberta (50%), British Columbia (12%) and Saskatchewan (11%) being the biggest Canadian buyers. International buyers from such countries as France, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates purchased 15%.

“We saw strong demand with active bidding from across Canada, the United States and overseas, helping us achieve strong pricing in almost every equipment category in Edmonton last week,” said Brian Glenn, senior vice president of Ritchie Bros. “Contractors are utilizing more of their fleets for active construction jobs, and fleet sizes are now better suited for the level of activity in the province. As a result, we sold fewer equipment items in this auction compared to our February Edmonton auction last year, though our April auction continues to grow—and will be an excellent opportunity for customers to both buy and sell assets to best align their fleets for their upcoming spring and summer projects.”

Equipment in the auction was sold for more than 600 owners. The selection included 50 excavators, 40 loaders, 40 compactors, 20 dozers, 15 cranes, 20 agricultural tractors, 65 aerial work platforms, 400 trailers and 120 truck tractors. All items were sold without minimum bids or reserve prices.

“We sold close to 50 items in the auction last week—trucks, excavators, dozers, packers—and we are very happy with the results,” said Herbert Rothenbacher, owner of Swiss Alpine, an Olds, AB-based deep utilities contractor. “We have sold and bought from Ritchie Bros. many times. They are the most professional, full-service organization. Perfect for selling a large spread of equipment, with first-class marketing, online bidding, and access to a global market—the whole package.”