Capital Equipment News April 2021

USED EQUIPMENT

Ritchie Bros. has seen tremendous global demand for used machinery.

Demand for used machinery continues to trend upwards

As many industries continue their journeys back from a challenging 2020, global demand for used equipment continues to increase. Many businesses remain wary of making big investments in newmachinery, while supply chain issues have hit delivery levels for new equipment. All told, explains Karl Werner, president international at Ritchie Bros., it makes the market for used heavy equipment a place of exciting opportunities for both buyers and sellers.

G lobal asset management and disposition com- pany Ritchie Bros. saw sales in most catego- ries of used machinery perform above expectations in 2020. While the construction industry was unquestionably hit hard by the pandemic, the slowdown has not been universal. In many countries, infrastructure projects have seen construction work back at pre-pan- demic levels. At the same time, many sectors such as agriculture, forestry and mining have increasingly turned to used equipment to meet their

current machinery needs. “We have seen tremendous global demand for used machinery,” says Werner. “There’s still a lot of work going on, and credit is still available. In times of uncertainty, businesses tend to buy used machinery rather than new equipment to avoid big financial commitments.” This shift to used machinery purchases has coincided with several OEMs reporting supply chain issues due to the pandemic. Others reduced production volumes in 2020 to protect employees during lockdown, and this has also impacted new machine

deliveries. “Longer waiting times for new equipment are fuelling the demand for used machinery, which is available immediately. All these factors combined have created a perfect storm that’s driving the strong demand for used heavy equipment, resulting in good price-performance for sellers,” adds Werner. Early demand indicators for 2021 For many, bigger equipment auctions early in the year are indicative of the state of the market. High demand was perfectly demonstrated at Ritchie Bros.’ most recent auction in

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