Ritchie Bros.' February Florida auction is a destination event for equipment buyers and sellers, attracting thousands of people from around the world to the Sunshine State.
This year, with COVID-safety its focus and a wealth of technology in its toolkit, Ritchie Bros.' conducted a hybrid-style event in Orlando, Fla. — equipment stored onsite with 100 percent online bidding to ensure safety, while adding new services and data tools to drive buyer demand.
The result was a spectacular success, as the company sold more than 12,000 items in six days for more than $191 million, making it the largest-ever 100 percent online equipment auction.
"Ritchie Bros. continues to innovate and drive unprecedented demand, resulting in strong pricing across every asset category last week in Orlando," said Ann Fandozzi, chief executive officer, Ritchie Bros. "This continues the positive pricing trend we saw at the end of 2020 and earlier in February in Houston, Texas. For the Orlando sale, we saw particularly strong price performance for truck tractors, skid steers and loader backhoes, followed closely by wheel loaders, aerial equipment and dozers.
"Despite the uncertainty in the world, Ritchie Bros. continues to deliver outstanding results thanks to our dedication to customer success, investment in technology, world-class customer services and a deeply-ingrained innovative spirit."
The Feb. 15 to 20, 2021, auction attracted more than 22,700 online bidders from more than 80 countries, setting a new record for the Orlando site. The company also set new records for online page views (more than 2.9 million and up 18 percent YOY), watchlist adds (more than 177,000 and up 54 percent YOY), and PriorityBids (more than 53,700 and up 316 percent YOY).
"Orlando is more than an auction — it's an event our customers rely on for the success of their businesses and we take this responsibility seriously," added Fandozzi. "We introduced new services this year to help customers unable to travel safely to inspect equipment in-person, including thousands of inventory videos, new data tools to help customers better understand market pricing, and scheduled pickups and inspection times. The more informed our customers are, the more confident they will be when bidding."
While the auction was conducted 100 percent online, Ritchie Bros.' Orlando site was still packed with the best selection of equipment anywhere. Two hundred acres and more than 12,000 items, including 540 excavators, 330 compactors, 280 skid steer loaders, 230 wheel loaders, 180 dozers, 740 aerial work platforms and 430 truck tractors.
Specific sales highlights included a 2017 Peterson 5710D crawler horizontal grinder that sold for $630,000 to an online buyer from Georgia; a 2016 Caterpillar 374FL hydraulic excavator that sold for $460,000 to an online buyer from Michigan; and a 2012 Kobelco CK1600G 160-ton self-erecting crawler crane that sold for $435,000 to an online buyer from Florida.
Approximately 82 percent of the equipment in the Orlando auction was purchased by U.S. buyers, including 18 percent purchased by Floridians. The remaining 18 percent of the equipment was sold to international buyers from as far away as Australia, Germany, Egypt and Korea. International sales highlights included a Grove GMK6250L 250-ton all-terrain crane that sold for $400,000 to a buyer from Trinidad and Tobago and a 2018 Caterpillar D8T dozer that sold for $260,000 to a buyer from Australia.
Ritchie Bros. delivered strong results for more than 1,000 consignors who sold in the Orlando auction, including B&G Equipment and Supply from Alabama and Rock Transport from Indiana.
"We traditionally do well in Orlando and this year didn't disappoint as we exceeded our expectations by 15 percent," said Dave Sides, Fleet Coordinator of B&G Equipment Supply. "Ritchie Bros. is a leader in the industry. They attract the largest audience. So, I'm not surprised they continue to deliver great results."
"We've done some smaller auctions with Ritchie Bros. in the past and had success, so we tried a larger package with Orlando this year and achieved substantially more than we expected," said Bill Meador, president of Rock Transport. "Ritchie Bros. works hard and is extremely transparent — no games, no gimmicks, just results."
For more information, visit www.RitchieBros.com.
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