Amid a tight supply environment, Ritchie Bros. welcomed thousands of motivated buyers online and onsite to its premier global equipment event in Orlando, FL. Buyers from around the world needing to fill immediate gaps in their fleets converged for the destination auction, creating strong pricing for equipment items and trucks. When the auction yard dust settled, Ritchie Bros. sold more than 11,200 items for $213 million in the massive six-day event.
From the onset of the pandemic, Ritchie Bros. has invested to create an industry-leading buyer experience by leveraging the best of the onsite and online worlds. Orlando's premier global auction this year was no different. Ritchie Bros. introduced a new online inspection tool that provided users with a 360-degree view of items selling, as well as an enhanced sale day experience with live videos and bidder maps. Bidders were also able to take advantage of a new mobile experience for online bidding.
"It was a thrill to bring people together in Orlando and see those important network connections in action," said Ann Fandozzi, Chief Executive Officer, Ritchie Bros. "It was exciting to welcome everyone back with an amazing customer appreciation event to kick off the week. Customers from all over had an opportunity to interact with each other, re-establish long-standing Ritchie Bros. relationships and meet new members of our team. It showed once again that Orlando is more than an auction.”
"We continue to work hard to evolve our sale-day experience, bringing together the best of both worlds – online and onsite – and it was great to hear so much positive feedback," added Fandozzi. "The technology we are providing continues to improve the buyer experience and we believe that contributed to the strong pricing we saw this week."
Buyer demand for the auction was also strong, with a site-record of more than 26,200 bidders from 86 countries participating. Equipment views per lot increased 45 percent year-over-year from last year's Orlando auction.
Ritchie Bros.' Orlando site featured 200 acres packed with the best selection of equipment anywhere. More than 1,130 consignors sold equipment located at the site, and virtually from six different Ritchie Bros. satellite yard locations, giving sellers an opportunity to reach Orlando's global buyer audience. In a market environment where equipment is in short supply, buyers had a wide selection from which to choose. Lots sold in the core categories of construction and transportation at Orlando were up year over year – 7,000+ lots in 2022 versus 6,900+ lots in 2021.
Approximately 84 percent of the equipment in the Orlando auction was purchased by U.S. buyers, including 22 percent purchased by Florida buyers. The remaining 16 percent of the equipment was sold to international buyers from as far away as Australia, Brazil, Germany and Japan.
Orlando capped off a big February for Ritchie Bros. After starting its auction season in Tipton, CA, Ritchie Bros. went on to conduct a $59-million record-breaking Phoenix auction and a $55-million Houston auction.