While we are more known for construction, transportation, and agricultural equipment, Ritchie Bros. has a long history selling equipment for companies operating in and around the oil & gas sector.
“We have decades of experience helping companies in oil & gas buy and sell equipment for their businesses and we want to continue to grow in this sector,” said Doug Olive, Senior Vice President (Pricing). “Traditionally Alberta and Texas have been our biggest markets and it’s no coincidence that these are also hotbeds for the oil & gas sector. With our September Market Trends Report we drill down into the details so you can learn more about what’s going on in the industry.”
With regards to the retail market, Doug Rusch, Managing Director of Rouse Sales, said, “As we have seen in the auction space, retail is also dealing with supply issues. However, retail volumes in August were bit stronger than recent months—only down 5% year over year vs. declines of 20-25% in previous months. At the same time, demand continues to be strong, resulting in retail values increasing for the 22nd straight month—up a further 2.3% in August.”
Since January 2021, Ritchie Bros. has sold more than 47,000 oil & gas-specific equipment items from the U.S. and Canada to buyers around the world.
With our September Market Trends Report we take a closer look at the wide variety of oil & gas assets and support equipment sold over the past 20 months, including boom, vacuum, and bed trucks, as well as winch tractors, tanker trailers, frac tanks, and too many more to mention. We drill down to find what are the best sellers, how volumes are trending, and where equipment is going. Let’s start drilling down!
General application vs. highly specialized equipment
Unlike other core industries Ritchie Bros. operates, assets sold in the oil & gas industry can have a wider range of specifications. Some equipment categories have a very specific purpose, like bed trucks and frac tanks. While other items, like boom and vacuum trucks can be used in different applications, having wider usage across industries.
The interesting trend we’re seeing is with respect to the volume of assets sold. While the number of units in 2022 has been down compared to prior year across other sectors, oil & gas unit sales have been steady.
Pricing is a different story. The volumes sold by quarter and the variance of the equipment specifications make it difficult to summarize pricing trends for oil & gas-specific equipment. For example, the volume of assets sold in Q2 in Canada, in most cases, eclipses volumes in Q1 and Q3 combined.
