Ritchie Bros., the global asset management and disposition company, reports a 18% year-on-year increase in the number of lots offered across its International Region auctions between January and June 2026. As volumes rise, the company is placing the regional expertise and operational know-how behind every transaction at the centre of how it supports customers through the second half of 2026.
The growth comes as businesses across international markets contend with rising operating costs, economic uncertainty and increasingly complex cross-border transactions. Many are holding on to equipment for longer and delaying replacement decisions while they wait for clearer market conditions.
In that environment, selling equipment is no longer simply about finding a buyer. It is about working with a partner that understands local markets, manages the operational detail – from inspections and logistics to customs and documentation – and connects sellers to global demand with confidence.
“A bigger marketplace only creates value if the operations behind it can carry the weight,” says Shane Eshuis, Vice President, Operations, Ritchie Bros. International. “Our customers don’t just need access to buyers – they need people on the ground who understand their region and can take the complexity off their hands. That is what operational excellence means to us, and it is why it matters more, not less, the larger we grow.”
That capability is most evident in the work customers rarely see. From its Maltby site, Ritchie Bros. runs around ten auctions a year in the UK, and since the country left the EU, every machine sold to European buyers must clear phytosanitary certification – stripped down and inspected for the smallest trace of soil before it can cross the border. The team built that expertise itself and now manages much of it for customers. Last year that extended to a 125-tonne excavator bound for Egypt, dismantled across six containers, secured with £7,000 of chains and shipped within three to four days.
It’s a very fast-paced market, and there’s not a lot of room for error,” says Rob Trewick, UK & Ireland Regional Operations Manager. “That job was a great example of all our teams working together.”
The same blend of local knowledge and operational control connects sellers to demand well beyond their home market. Ritchie Bros.’ bonded yard near Madrid can take in equipment from anywhere in the world and sell it on without formal importation, making Spain a natural gateway between continents, and into Latin America in particular. Its largest project there began with around 4,000 machines from a North African construction programme – shipped into the port of Cádiz across some 21 vessel movements, moved to Madrid and sold over 18 months to buyers in almost 90 countries, worth close to €18 million.
“There’s a lot involved in a project like that,” says Fergus Garrett, Spain Regional Operations Manager. “Our operations team is one of the most experienced in the entire organisation – average tenure is close to ten years. That experience is what lets us stay close to our customers and handle every detail so they don’t have to.”
This release opens a series running through Q3 2026 showing operational excellence in practice across Ritchie Bros.’ international regions, building towards Super September, the company’s flagship annual campaign. It is the point in the year when that operational capability is put to work at the greatest scale, with sellers reaching the widest pool of buyers.
The full Super September auction calendar will be released later this summer, giving sellers time to plan their consignments and buyers an early view of what is coming to market.
To sell with Ritchie Bros., start at rbauction.co.uk.
