Acceleration of European construction projects in 2021 which led to increased demand for equipment, along with supply chain disruptions have continued to constrict availability and push up prices of used machinery, according to a new report from Ritchie Bros.

Prepared by Ritchie Bros Asset Solutions using transactional data from its auctions and marketplaces, as well as data from popular equipment listing website Mascus, the Q4 2021 Market Trends Report - European Edition takes an in-depth look into supply and demand, pricing, ageing trends and more.

Johan Lustig, product manager, Valuation Services, at Ritchie Bros., said: “The market continues to function, but the supply of materials needed for production is lagging behind. Long delivery times on new equipment makes the used equipment market much more appealing for buyers across Europe and beyond.”

Ritchie Bros. said that its ability to drive buyer demand in this “seller’s market” continued to be visible across its auctions and online marketplace, Marketplace-E, in the form of increased buyer participation and high price realisation.

Equipment listing website Mascus was equally favourable for sellers, with large increases in buyer inquiries across the board - from small to large equipment categories. All-terrain cranes, for example, showed an uptick of 32% of direct calls to sellers on Mascus compared to the same period in 2020.

“Analysing Mascus listings, we see a decrease in equipment stock in our clients’ yards, while the average age of used equipment for sale is rising. The same trend is occurring with auction lots where both the age of the machines and the prices are increasing,” Lustig added.

The jump in sale prices has been observed for almost all types of machines, such as backhoe loaders which saw a massive 44% jump in median pricing, revealed the report, which provides a review of the median prices for construction equipment, including articulated dump trucks, excavators, crawler tractors and all-terrain cranes, among other equipment.