Four days of auction action. Close to 8,000 lots sold. More than 14,000 registered bidders participating on site and online. By the time the last lot had sold at our massive Edmonton, AB, Canada auction April 28-May 1, it was clear this auction was a record-breaker – from the number of days, to the number of items, to the total amount of equipment sold: CA$215 million worth.

Check out the yard packed full of equipment and trucks in this drone video:

With the amount of equipment and trucks changing hands, the largest Canadian auction in Ritchie Bros. history not only attracted buyers from around the world, but also caught the attention of local and national news networks including the CBC, CTV, Global and others who shot footage, interviewed customers and filed reports from the auction site.¹

But most importantly – the auction was a huge success for our customers who came to buy and sell heavy equipment, trucks and more. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.

Summary: records broken in Edmonton

The Edmonton spring 2015 auction numbers were staggering, setting multiple company records:

• Our first-ever four-day auction in Canada
• Equipment and trucks sold – CA$215+ million (US$177+ million) *New company Canadian record
• Amount sold to online bidders – CA$105+ million (US$86+ million) *New company record
• Total registered bidders (onsite and online) – 14,000+ *New Company record
• Online bidders – 8,150+ *New Company record
• Number of buyers – 3,200+ *New Company record
• Number of online buyers – 1,850+ *New Company record
• Number of lots sold – 7,700+ *New Company Canadian record
• Number of sellers – 760+

Cross-sector participation offsets oil industry decline

Despite market concerns surrounding lower oil prices, high bidder turnout and cross-sector participation drove strong pricing on all four days. The auction attracted bidders from more than 55 countries. Equipment was sold to buyers from across Canada, the U.S. and as far away as the United Arab Emirates, Germany and Malaysia. Canadians purchased almost 90 per cent of the equipment in the auction (by dollar value), including 51 per cent purchased by Albertans.

Lower oil prices helped “build such a large event,” Ritchie Bros. senior vice president Brian Glenn told the Edmonton Journal, but sellers were “pleasantly surprised” by the strong prices achieved on auction day.

“What that speaks to is there are other sectors of industry, particularly in Western Canada, that are active and busy,” said Mr. Glenn. Buyers from the construction, transportation and forestry sectors were bidding competitively and “paying good money for premium equipment to take back to work.”²

A big auction, and big returns for sellers

Amongst the 760+ sellers were several complete dispersals including one for Earth & Iron Inc. and a fleet realignment for A-1 Rentals.

“I’m very proud of my iron, and I’m proud of what Ritchie Bros. did to market it. Together we sent Earth & Iron equipment to new buyers around the world,” said Dean Gray, president of Earth & Iron. “I’m very pleased with the results. There is no other company in the world that can do what Ritchie Bros. does. I watched the sale online and saw bidders participating from all around the world.”

“This is the third time we’ve done a realignment through Ritchie Bros., and we keep coming back because returns have been so strong,” said Guy Turnbull, owner and president of A-1 Rentals. “While there is certainly less work for some sectors in Alberta, there’s still money here and people are still buying equipment.”

Truck and equipment highlights

The record-setting selection of heavy equipment and trucks included 240+ excavators, 225+ crawler tractors, 200+ compactors, 100 articulated dump trucks, 80+ wheel loaders, 70+ motor graders, 40+ motor scrapers, 50 agricultural tractors, 195 truck tractors and more. Every item was sold to the highest bidder, with no minimum bids or reserve prices. Here’s a look at three of the biggest ticket items sold.

2012 Link-Belt HTC86100 hydraulic truck crane – sold for CA$815,000 (approx. US$669,930)

Three 2013 Caterpillar 627H motor scrapers – sold for CA$700,000 each (approx. US$575,400)

2012 Caterpillar D8T dozer – sold for CA$490,000 (approx. US$402,700)

Check more equipment selling prices online

We post auction results within 48 hours of every auction. Sign in or sign up for a free online account to see all auction results from Edmonton and every other Ritchie Bros. auction held in the past two years. Selling prices for 678,000+ items available now!

Equipment to sell? Don’t miss the next big auction

We conduct regular unreserved public auctions around the world, helping companies of all sizes sell their surplus equipment and trucks. Contact us to discuss selling at an auction near you.

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¹ Watch CTV Edmonton’s news report or read the Edmonton Journal’s post-auction article
² “Ritchie Bros. says Nisku auction was its largest in Canada,” by David Howell, Edmonton Journal (http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Ritchie+Bros+says+Nisku+auction+largest+Canada/11028595/story.html)