IronPlanet, a leading online auction company for used construction and agricultural equipment, continued to gain significant marketplace momentum in 2007, with gross auction sales of $231 million, an increase of more than 42 percent over 2006.
Fourth quarter gross auction sales totaled $84 million, up 75 percent over the third quarter and up 65 percent over the same period last year.
“IronPlanet’s record breaking year demonstrates the value that our online auctions are bringing to the global marketplace,” said Gregory J. Owens, chairman and CEO of IronPlanet.
“I am excited about the momentum we’ve generated and our future growth prospects, as buyers and sellers are increasingly looking at IronPlanet’s online auctions as a more competitive and convenient venue to buy and sell used equipment, versus traditional auctions.
“As we move into 2008, we will continue our relentless focus on what is most important to our customers: faster time to market through more frequent auctions, better price realizations, the industry’s lowest selling costs and guaranteed equipment inspection reports,” said Owens.
“In order to better respond to our global customer base, we increased our sales organization by more than 75 percent in the fourth quarter.”
In 2007 IronPlanet strengthened its relationships with key OEM partners, dealers, contractors, rental companies and other equipment sellers, increasing the average auction size to more than $10 million gross auction sales in the fourth quarter, an improvement of more than 50 percent over the same period last year.
IronPlanet averaged more than 500 lots per auction in the fourth quarter, an increase of 25 percent over the same period last year.
An increase in global marketing emphasis drove greater buyer awareness and participation, with each auction drawing 10,000 to 12,000 potential bidders. The expanded global reach attracted buyers from more than 76 countries and resulted in approximately 32 percent of equipment sold in 2007 being shipped to international buyers.
“Our sellers are increasingly impressed with our ability to reach a global buyer base,” said Jeff Jeter, senior vice president, international and new business. “In today’s volatile domestic market this global reach has helped support otherwise softening U.S. equipment prices.”
“We will continue to focus on drawing strong international participation to our domestic auctions as well as building IronPlanet operations globally as we have done with our recently launched Australia operations,” said Jeter.
For more information, visit www.ironplanet.com.
