With its first Houston, TX site auction of the year, Ritchie Bros. attracted more than 14,500 bidders to compete for over 6,500 items, generating more than $61 million in gross transaction value.

Approximately 87 percent of the equipment in the Feb. 14-16auction was sold to U.S. buyers, including 48 percent purchased by Texans. The remaining 13 percent was purchased by international buyers from far away as France, India and Japan. Auction highlights included over 1,100 transportation assets, more than 1,100 construction equipment assets, over 700 lifting & material handling assets, forestry equipment, and more—all assets were sold without minimum bids or reserve prices.

"We had a fantastic selection of equipment last week in Houston, with something for everyone, attracting bidders from more than 60 countries around the world," said Chuck Roberson, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "We achieved strong prices for equipment and trucks all three days of the auction. As a result, we had a lot of happy sellers eager to consign more equipment for our upcoming Fort Worth sale in March and our weekly IronPlanet events."