Twelve thousand plus equipment items and trucks sold in just six days at a Ritchie Bros. auction held inOrlando, FL last week. This is the company's premier auction each year, and this year they did it better than ever, reaching US$278+ million in sales, making it Ritchie Bros.' largest auction ever in its 60-year history.

More than 13,350 bidders from 90 countries registered to participate in the Orlando auction (February 19 – 24, 2018), including 8,600+ online bidders who purchased US$123+ million (44%) of the equipment. U.S. bidders purchased approximately 80 percent of the equipment in the auction, while international bidders from such countries as Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Australia, and China purchased 20 percent of the equipment.

"We created history last week, with a record US$278+ million auction, which was a 24% increase compared to the combined Ritchie Bros. and IronPlanet GTV from last year—a monumental event for the used heavy equipment and transportation sectors," said Ravi Saligram, Chief Executive Officer, Ritchie Bros. "We consider this to be a barometer of both end user demand as well as superb execution of our sales, marketing and operations teams. Despite continued tightness of supply, which we expect to persist, our teams leveraged existing customer relationships, and penetrated new accounts. The auction results showcase the potential power of the Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers and IronPlanet combination and that the innovations we implemented in Orlando significantly enhanced the customer experience for sellers and buyers. I would like to thank our customers for their enduring trust and our employees who made this auction a tremendous success."

Jeff Jeter, President of U.S. Sales for Ritchie Bros. added, "We are pleased with the execution of our sales team and encouraged by the strong price performance throughout the week through most equipment categories and sectors, continuing the trend we've seen in our events early this year, including our auctions in Phoenix, Houston, and Tipton, as well as our weekly online auctions through IronPlanet. We sold 12% more lots this year compared to the combined Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers and IronPlanet Orlando auctions last February and saw a price per lot increase of 11%."

Ritchie Bros. leveraged technology in new ways in Orlando this year to provide consignors more convenient selling options and offer buyers increased comfort and transparency into the auction process. For select items, the company offered a virtual consignment option to sell off-site items with IronClad Assurance, seamlessly integrating those items with the rest of the assets located in Orlando. Ritchie Bros. also set up a huge tent in the yard with air conditioning and seating for up to 700 bidders, providing comfort to bidders in a third auction ring instead of walking them item to item to sell out in the yard. And, for the first time ever, Ritchie Bros. brought its online auction clerks to Orlando to catch online bids right in the auction theater, providing amazing transparency to its online process.