Auction firm Ritchie Bros has set a record for equipment sales

318 Ritchie Bros sold around US$3.9 billion of equipment at 328 unreserved equipment auctions around the world in 2012. This represents a 5% increase in gross auction proceeds over 2011 and the highest gross auction proceeds in the company’s history. The firm achieved gross auction proceeds of $1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 alone, highlighting the strong industry demand for used machines. Ritchie Bros says that it also attracted record online bidder registrations and sold approximately $1.3 billion of equipment, trucks and other assets to online bidders in 2012, an 18% increase over 2011 and the highest amount ever sold online by the firm in one year. Ritchie Bros. conducted its final unreserved auctions of 2012 on December 20th in Los Angeles, California, and St Louis, Missouri. The firm plans to release its full audited annual financial statements for 2012 on February 26th, 2013.