Vancouver-based Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers sold approximately $561 million of equipment at 31 unreserved auctions around the world in September 2012, the highest September gross auction proceeds in company history and one of its largest ever months. The company also achieved its highest ever third quarter gross auction proceeds with approximately $848 million of equipment sold during the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2012. The Ritchie Bros. Web site attracted roughly 4.1 million unique visitors in the first nine months of 2012, a 39 percent increase compared to the same period in 2011.
“Our record September and third quarter gross auction proceeds reflect steady improvement in equipment supply and demand dynamics, which we discussed on our August earnings call,” said Peter Blake, Ritchie Bros. CEO. “New equipment supply and demand continued to become more balanced during the quarter, which is beginning to increase the availability of used equipment in the market. This is a positive development for our business and growth prospects, though increasing equipment supply resulted in generally more variability in used equipment prices at our auctions in the month of September.
“We expect that increased availability of equipment will continue to stimulate the supply of used equipment to sell at our auctions. This is a promising sign as we move into the fourth quarter and we are confident in our ability to execute and achieve our 2012 plan.”
Highlights from the month of September included:
• Demand for heavy equipment and trucks remains strong in Alberta
On Sept. 5 and 6, 2012, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers sold close to $54 million of heavy equipment and trucks during a two-day unreserved public auction at the company’s permanent auction site in Edmonton, Alberta. Almost 5,000 registered bidders competed for 4,600 heavy equipment items and trucks, including a selection of more than 120 T/A truck tractors, more than 75 hydraulic excavators and more.
• Close to 1,700 heavy equipment items sold in Australia in two days
Later in the month, the company sold more than $67 million of heavy equipment and trucks at two Australian unreserved public auctions in Brisbane, QLD (Sept. 18) and Geelong, VIC (Sept. 20). In total, close to 1,700 heavy equipment items and trucks were sold in the two auctions, including 92 wheel loaders, 86 hydraulic excavators, 21 crawler tractors, 36 articulated dump trucks, 52 prime movers and more.
• Strong international participation at two-day Texas auction
More than 2,950 bidders from 58 countries participated at a two-day unreserved public auction in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sept. 25 and 26, 2012. The company sold more than $40 million of equipment items and trucks at the Fort Worth auction, which featured more than 3,400 heavy equipment items and trucks.
• Massive mining auction held in conjunction with North Carolina Grand Opening
To wrap up the record-breaking month of September, Ritchie Bros. held a historic auction at the company’s brand new permanent auction site in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. on Sept. 26 and 27, 2012. More than 2,100 bidders from 51 countries registered on site in Raleigh, on site at a simulcast of the auction in Las Vegas, Nev., or online at www.rbauction.com to participate in the grand opening auction in North Carolina, which featured a massive selection of more than 300 mining and earthmoving equipment items that were used in coal mining operations in Kentucky and West Virginia.
The company sold more than 60 Caterpillar D11 crawler tractors on day two of the auction. Local U.S.-based buyers as well as buyers from as far away as Australia and Hong Kong purchased the D11s on auction day. By the end of day two, the company had sold more than $76 million of trucks, heavy construction, earthmoving and mining equipment during the two-day unreserved public auction.
For more information, please visit www.rbauction.com.
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