Last week, Ritchie Bros. conducted its largest Texas auction ever, attracting 76 percent more bidders year over year and achieving US$95 million in gross transaction value—surpassing its previous Texas sales record, set June 2020, by 17 percent.
The March 17 – 18, 2021 Fort Worth auction attracted a record 16,000+ bidders from 79 countries. Approximately 83 percent of the equipment in the auction was sold to U.S. buyers, including 34 percent sold to Texas buyers, while international buyers from as far way as France, Ghana, and Vietnam purchased the remaining 17 percent.
“Our consignors are benefiting from robust equipment and truck demand we are helping drive in 2021,” said Chuck Roberson, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. “With all bidding online, demand has skyrocketed over the past year. Our Fort Worth auction last week saw online pageviews per lot increase 59% year over year, while watchlists per lot and PriorityBids increased 78% and 157% respectively. As a result, we have a lot of happy sellers right now rushing to get more equipment consigned for our next event—now is a great time to sell!”
Equipment highlights in the Fort Worth auction included a 2015 Tadano GR1000XL-3 4x4x4 rough terrain crane that sold for US$385,000 to an online buyer from Indonesia; a 2016 Caterpillar 349FL hydraulic excavator that sold for US$245,000 to a buyer from Texas, and a 2018 Peterbilt 389 T/A sleeper truck tractor that sold for US$124,000 to a buyer from Arizona. All items were sold unreserved, with no minimum bids or reserve prices.
“Even with all bidding online we still safely welcomed thousands of masked buyers onsite to inspect equipment in person prior to bidding,” added Mr. Roberson. “We also sold more than 800 items last week with our Virtual Sales Option, as many consignors from outside the state were eager to be a part of the sale. Our auctions are becoming more digital and more convenient, resulting in more bidders and better returns for sellers.”
AUCTION QUICK FACTS: FORT WORTH (MARCH 2021)
- Gross Transaction Value (GTV): US$95+ million *new site record
- Total Registered Bidders: 16,000+ *new site record
- Total Number of Lots: 5,800+
- Total Number of Consignors: 760+ *new site record
Ritchie Bros. will sell more than 65,000 equipment items and trucks in its upcoming auctions, including a Northeast Regional Event on March 23 – 24; a Chehalis, WA auction on March 25; and an Atlanta, GA event on March 26. The company also has weekly featured online auctions at IronPlanet.com and a daily reserved option with Marketplace-E.
