In its sixth and final Edmonton, AB auction of the year last week, Ritchie Bros. sold 4,500 equipment items and trucks for C$66 million ($52 million), bringing the site’s 2017 total to 37,000 items sold for C$553 million ($421 million).

More than 7,850 bidders registered to participate in the Edmonton auction, including 5,850 online bidders. Approximately 89% of the equipment in the auction was sold to Canadian buyers, with bidders from Alberta (58%), British Columbia (12%) and Saskatchewan (9%) being the biggest Canadian participants, while international buyers from countries such as Egypt, Poland and Hong Kong purchased 11% of the equipment. More than 71% of the equipment in the auction was sold to online buyers.

“Online and onsite bidders were eager to snatch up equipment for winter work, resulting in strong pricing both days of the auction last week,” said Trent Vandenberghe, sales director of Ritchie Bros. “We continue to see relatively tight equipment supply as many companies are hanging on to surplus equipment in anticipation of upcoming projects. This continues to result in higher demand at our auctions and an uptick in pricing across many equipment categories.”

Equipment in the December auction was sold for close to 700 owners, including 35 items for the Alberta-based, family-owned, oilfield transportation company Calnash Trucking, which has been in business for 45 years.

“Ritchie Bros. is a first-class company to deal with,” said Kevin Nashim, president of Calnash Trucking. “Their auctions are well-organized, their advertising gets you top dollar for your equipment and they’re just good people to work with.”