Ritchie Bros. conducted its first Edmonton, AB auction of the year and sold more than 4,250 equipment items and trucks over three days (February 27 – March 1) for more than C$60+ million ($47 million).

More than 8,500 bidders from 53 countries registered to participate in the Edmonton auction, including 6,300 online bidders. Approximately 89% of the equipment in the auction was sold to Canadian buyers, with buyers from Alberta purchasing 52%, while international buyers from countries such as the U.S., China and the United Arab Emirates purchased 11% of the equipment. Approximately 64% of the equipment in the auction was sold to online buyers.

“Equipment supply continues to be tight, resulting in high demand and strong pricing across most equipment categories,” said Trent Vandenberghe, sales director for Ritchie Bros. “We registered 8,500 bidders this week and there were probably another few thousand people onsite just to watch and see what the current market is for equipment. There was a strong contingent of end-users bidding aggressively and snatching up assets. They have the work and they need the equipment. Consignors were very happy with the results we achieved for them this week.”

Equipment in the Edmonton auction was sold for more than 640 owners, including a complete dispersal of more than 90 items for Savard Construction.

“We came to Ritchie Bros. because of the convenience they provide. They could sell all our gear in one auction, instead of me trying to sell one item at a time by myself,” said Mike Savard, owner of Savard Construction. “My Ritchie Bros. representative was excellent and very helpful throughout the whole consignment and auction process. I was able to hand over my gear and let them take care of everything else and at the end of the day I’m very happy with the results.”

There was also a charity portion of the Edmonton auction, with Ritchie Bros. running a series of events to raise funds for the Children’s Wish Foundation. All told, the company raised more than C$19,000 ($14,720) for the charity.