38
ACT
APRIL 2015
INDUSTRY FOCUS
AUCTIONS
worthof equipment they sold. Tobón isn’t
exactly satisfied, though.
“Tobehonestwithyou, it’s small
compared to someof the50-yearold
companieswhohavebeendoingauctions
for a long time,”he said.
Versatility sells
On that samedayandabout 800miles
away inCasper,WY, RitchieBrothers
Auctioneershostedavery large auction for
EnergyTransportation that featured750
piecesof equipment, including34 cranes.
Fourteen rough terrain cranes (ranging
from20–150 tons), sevenall terrain
cranes (225–600 tons), sevenhydraulic
truck cranes (75–110 tons), six crawler
cranes (230–660 tons), and related
rigging equipment, aswell asheavy-spec
trucks, trailers andother equipmentwere
auctionedoff.
WhileRitchieBros. has seenagoodmix
of various typesofwell-maintained cranes
at their auctions, theyaren’t noticing large
quantities so far this year.
“There’s a lot of activity in the lifting
andhandling sector right now tied to the
increasedamount of infrastructurework
in theUnitedStates,” saidDougOlive,VP
of pricingandvaluations, RitchieBros. “As
a result of the amount ofworkgoingon,
demand ishighandpricingonused cranes
hasbeen strong, especially for latemodel,
well-maintained cranes.We’ve sold180
cranes, including84 rough terrain cranes,
24 carrydeck cranes and21 crawler
cranes.”
RitchieBros. soldmore than1,400 cranes
in2014, including578 rough terrain
cranes, 168hydraulic truck cranes, 163
all-terrain cranes, and144 crawler cranes.
Traditionally, they sellmore rough terrain
cranes thananyother typebecauseof their
versatilityand cross-sector appeal.
According toOlive, there are anumber
ofmajor factors that affect thepriceof
used cranes,most notably the lead time
and cost it takes topurchasenew.
“With jobs availablenow, craneoperators
need cranes toput towork right away—
it can takeup to twoyears to special
order certain typesof cranes, andmany
operators can’t affordordon’twant to
wait,”he said. “RitchieBros. provides
craneoperatorswithaccess toqualityused
craneswhen theyneed them.”
Themost expensive cranesRitchieBros.
sold in thepast sixmonthswere two2011
GroveGMK5165-2 (165-ton) all terrains.
Theywent for $925,000 each inWilliston,
NDback inNovember.
“Thebiggest factor affectingprices for
used cranes right now is theamount of
workavailable, particularlywith increased
infrastructurework in theUnitedStates,”
saidOlive. “Greaterdemandand tighter
supplymean strongprices for sellers.”
Similar to IronPlanet, end-usersmakeup
the largest percentageof sellers andbuyers
atRitchieBros. auctions.
Asopposed togoing toauction, end-
userswindup selling theirownused
cranesquite frequently, as is the casewith
ALLErection&CraneRental.ALL sells
direct becauseof the after-sales service
theyprovide their customers.
“Theused cranemarket is strong right
now,” saidMichael Liptak, president,ALL
FamilyofCompanies. “Ourhigh sales
volumeof usedmachines iswhat enabled
us to invest heavily innewermodels for
our fleet.”
ALL recentlypurchased40newLink-
Belt and17newTadano cranes.
“Our success in selling really stems from
howwellwe take careof the equipment in
our fleet,” saidLiptak.
Oil and gas fallout
MyronBowlingAuctioneers, Inc. has
beenona tear turningover crawler
cranes asof late. Theyhosteda five-day
auction inMorganCity, LA last Fall
forMcDermott, Inc., an international
engineering, procurement, construction
and installation company that showed
demand for cranes from endusers aswell
asdealers.
“We sold severalAmerican11250
crawler cranes at the auction for as
muchas $525,000plus 15percent
buyer’spremium,” saidGregHengehold,
managingpartner,MyronBowling. “At
another auction inNew Iberia, LAwe sold
ahalf dozenManitowoc crawler cranes,
includinga2250 for $475,000plus 15
percent. In theGulfCoastmarket, lattice
boom crawler cranes are indemand
among shipyards and fabricators.”
MyronBowling forecasts abit of adip in
theused cranemarket due to lowoil prices
in themonths ahead.
“Inaddition to themassive layoffsby the
largerplayers in theoilmarket,wehave
already seen some smalleroperators in
the transportation, fabrication, and site
preparation fields close theirdoors,” said
Hengehold. “Becauseof the tightening
of themarket,more craneswill hit the
market, increasing the supplyasdemand
decreases.On thebright side, cranesused
in the construction trade are scarce and in
demand.”
If you’renot inoil andgas, things look
a lot better.MyronBowling reports
that their auctionshavegenerallybeen
strongand they see thatmost industries
are increasing capacitywithanappetite
for good, late-model used equipment,
including cranes.
MyronBowling typically sells cranes
fromowneroperations that have closed.
These aregenerally fabricators, ship
builders, construction companiesor
erection contractors.
■
Grove hydraulic truck craneswere
auctioned off at Ritchie Bros.’ February
auction in Orlando.
An American Skyhorse 11250 crawler crane
went for $525,000 at theMcDermott auction.
