Ritchie Bros. report explores excavator trends

At Ritchie Bros., Komatsu registered as the No. 2-selling excavator brand from 2017 through September 2020 – behind Caterpillar yet ahead of John Deere. Photo: P&Q Staff

A Ritchie Bros. report offers a look into pricing trends for excavators, one of the company’s most popular equipment categories.

From January 2017 to September 2020, Ritchie Bros. says it sold more than 15,000 excavators in the U.S. alone for more than $850 million. The top-selling brands by volume were Caterpillar, Komatsu and John Deere, with the top models sold being Cat’s 336EL, 320EL and 320CL.

On average, Ritchie Bros. says about 27 percent of all excavators sold in the U.S. during that timeframe were sold to local state buyers. Fifty-seven percent, meanwhile, were sold to out-of-state U.S. buyers, while 16 percent were sold to international buyers.

“In a year of volatility, excavator pricing has remained relatively stable,” says Doug Olive, senior vice president of pricing at Ritchie Bros, which saw record demand in 2020. “The excavator’s cross-industry applications help mitigate massive price fluctuations. We also believe that the uptick in housing starts throughout the United States has had a positive impact on excavator pricing in 2020.”

To learn more about excavator sales at Ritchie Bros., download the December version of the company’s “Used Equipment Market Trends Summary.”