The online strength and global network of Ritchie Bros. was on full display last week as the company set a new record, selling more than 35,000 equipment items and trucks in 29 online auctions across five countries in just five days—making it the busiest week in the company’s history.
 
With all auctions held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ritchie Bros. also set new online traffic records, with more than 2.5 million visits to its online platforms in five days. This includes the company's busiest day ever on June 24, when the company topped 212,000 visits to rbauction.com in a single day.
 
"We continue to see record attendance at our auctions around the world as more and more of our customers get used to participating in our auctions online," said Ann Fandozzi, Chief Executive Officer, Ritchie Bros. "With big, multi-day auctions in Edmonton, Houston, and Northeast, as well as 26 other auctions last week, we registered a staggering 80,000+ bidders in a week! Our people are working incredibly hard to ensure we deliver for our customers during these difficult times."
 
Total gross transaction proceeds for the record-breaking week surpassed $295 million, including a more than $43 million auction in Houston, TX; a $47 million Northeast Regional auction; and $69 million Edmonton, AB, auction.
 
Houston auction – More than 9,100 bidders from 61 countries registered to bid. Approximately 47 percent of the equipment was purchased by out-of-state buyers from as far away as Vietnam, Poland and the United Arab Emirates.
 
Northeast Regional auction – With its first Northeast Regional event, Ritchie Bros. combined equipment from four locations—North East, MD; North Franklin, CT; Pittsburgh, PA; and Williamsport, PA—into one auction. More than 5,700 items were sold in the event. In total, more than 7,900 bidders from 64 countries registered for the two-day auction.
 
Edmonton, AB auction – After completing a more than $131 million auction last month, Ritchie Bros.' Edmonton team was back at it again last week, selling more than 9,500 items over three days. Approximately 45 percent of the equipment in the auction was sold to buyers from outside the province.
 
Other highlights included a $25 million weekly featured auction on IronPlanet.com and $15 million of equipment sold at 18 on-farm Timed Auctions across Western Canada.