Prices Strong at Ritchie Bros.' $45 Million Orlando Auction Despite Market Turmoil

Sept. 28, 2010
Recent market turmoil and economic uncertainty had little impact on auction prices at the US$45 million unreserved public auction conducted by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers in Orlando, FL, last week. More than 1,800 on-site and online bidders from 48 countries, including 46 U.S. states, registered to bid on more than 2,500 trucks and heavy equipment items being sold at the two-day auction.
Recent market turmoil and economic uncertainty had little impact on auction prices at the US$45 million unreserved public auction conducted by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers in Orlando, FL, last week. More than 1,800 on-site and online bidders from 48 countries, including 46 U.S. states, registered to bid on more than 2,500 trucks and heavy equipment items being sold at the two-day auction. Buyers from outside the state of Florida purchased more than $32 million of equipment (72 percent of the total), including almost $15 million of equipment (33 percent) that was purchased by people from outside the United States. Ritchie Bros. (www.rbauction.com), the world's largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, conducted the unreserved public auction at its permanent auction site in Orlando on Oct. 15-16, 2008. "We weren't sure what the impact of the recent market activity would be at the auction but prices were surprisingly strong," said Gary Seybold, Ritchie Bros. regional manager. "Our ability to consistently attract a large crowd of bidders from many different countries and industries enables equipment sellers to overcome challenging local market conditions. There's always someone, somewhere looking for machines to put to work. We had more than 1,000 people from as far away as the U.K., Italy and Canada bidding in person at our Orlando auction site last week, and hundreds more bidding over the internet." Kelly Tractor - a Miami, Florida-based Caterpillar equipment dealer - was one of almost 290 consignors at last week's Orlando auction. The company has been selling surplus equipment at Ritchie Bros. auctions for more than 20 years - about US$15 million of equipment this year alone. "We anticipated the slowdown in the rental sector, so we've reduced our rental fleet over the past couple of years," said Gary Warren, Rental and Used Equipment Manager for Kelly Tractor. "Ritchie Bros. helps us reach a global audience of buyers, in person and online, which is what keeps prices strong. Given the state of the economy right now, we expected prices to be down at the Orlando auction but we were pleased with the results; they were right where we hoped they'd be."