UK Auction Review – UK machinery market stays strong in 2022 with Euro Auctions Leeds having its best year ever.

2022 was a strong year for the used machinery market with prices resilient, demand high for good fresh low hours machines, with a shortage of new equipment from OEMs for the duration of 2022.

At the very last Euro Auctions sale of the year, the flagship sale site in Leeds, put just over £35 million of used construction machinery and agricultural equipment over the ramp in four days, including over 700 diggers of all makes and models. With market confidence in the UK still high with the Leeds yard stacked to the rafters, over 4,500 lots went under the hammer at the last sale of the year.
2022 was not without its challenges with access to stock being the major issue. However, the team at Euro Auctions excelled themselves consistently pulling into the Leeds sales between 4,500 and 5,500 lots of heavy earth moving, construction and agricultural machinery at each sale. With a reputation for sourcing good, fresh, late, low hours machines on a regular basis in addition to consignments of new and unregistered equipment, the Euro Auctions team continued to ‘dig deep’ and delivered, sale on sale.
Internet bidding continued to be strong at all Euro Auctions sales in 2022, a hangover in trading style from Covid, with 69% of bids conducted online. However, in mid-2022 the crowds returned to the live sales and at the final Leeds sale of the year numbers of live bidders were approaching pre-Covid numbers and when compared with the same sale in October 2021, there was a 20% uplift. 2022 was a stellar year for Leeds with the highest yearly hammer total to date at the years end with over £329, million and the highest number of items sold in one year, at one site, with 40,000+ lots going under the hammer.

Excavators in High Demand – Leeds is now the DIGGER capital of the UK

The demand for excavators in the UK has been unprecedented during the last 12 months, with the industry dubbing Euro Auctions, Leeds, as the ‘digger capital’ of the World’. Throughout 2022, at the Euro Auctions sale in Leeds anywhere from 700 and 1,000 variations of makes, models years, hours and types of excavators have gone over the ramp at each sale, a statistic unmatched anywhere globally. Due to the quality of the equipment offered and the exchange rates movements throughout the year, Leeds has seen increased levels of international buyers participating and using Leeds to pick up equipment for export. Euro Auctions sellers have also been taking advantage of this and have been consigning to Euro Auctions sales in the US, branded as Yoder & Frey, in particular the upcoming multi day Winter auction in Florida in February.

UK Trends
Top buying regions and countries have been Europe, with the Middle East being consistently the second region by volume. The UK and the Republic of Ireland being top buying countries with The Netherlands and Poland constantly appearing in the top five.
A new emerging buyer in the last quarter of the year, previously not seen at the Euro Auctions sale in Leeds is the Ukraine. Registering online and buying utility earth moving equipment and smaller excavators, generators and telehandlers, One can assume that equipment is destined for clean-up in this war-ravaged region of Europe. Increased levels of buyers from Ukraine bought in Leeds in October and the November / December sale, as well as the recent Dormagen sale where Ukrainian buyers were the 9th top bidding nation.

Collective Yearly Hammer Totals & Growth
Year Hammer Growth # Lots Online
2019 £274,151,970 + 14% 35,787 46%
2022 £294,244,909 + 7 % 40,171 75%
2021 £264,458,809 - 10% 36,286 72%
2022 £329,115,247 + 24% 40,772 67%

Chris Osborne, Sales Manager at Euro Auctions comments on the recent 20220 sales.
“During the last 12 months Euro Auctions put on eight record breaking sales at the Leeds site and no sooner one sale ends, the yard is filling up for the next auction. The ability for Euro Auctions to fill the Leeds yard with 5,500 + machines, 8-times a year, is a testimony to the ability of the global sales managers to consign good equipment for this sale. With sales managers in the UK, Spain, Germany, Middle East as well as the USA and Australia, Euro Auction is able to direct consignment into, not just Leeds, but to wherever demand is strongest”.

“Prices have been strong, helped by the weaker pound and we have seen bidders from Europe and the USA bidding more aggressively. At the last two sales of 2022, 45% of bidders were from the UK, showing an increase in global bidders. Bidder registration from the USA jumped by 700% since October and I personally have seen those bidders buying multiple lots as they sit on the ramp, buying not one of five CAT or Hitachi diggers, but all five, which shows the appetite for the stock we are selling. In addition, at all sales we are hearing auctioneers repeatedly referencing online bidders in Texas, Florida and other states, which again, is fast becoming the chant of the auctioneer on sales day”.

“Successful bidders from the USA have been growing sale on sale, and in October, approximately £2 million of the £43 million hammer went to bidders from America., Registered buyers from the USA are always evident, bidding in the early stages of the sale, so distance is clearly no barrier. You can get a stripped-down Cat 320D Excavator or a couple of telehandlers into a 40’ shipping container and for a few thousand pounds it can be shipped anywhere in the world. However, a trend we saw throughout the year was local buyers bidding more aggressively and winning!”

“Another noticeable trend at the last few sales, the crowds are back! Whilst a lot of bidding takes place online, bidders are browsing in person and this last sale the number of floor bidders were back to pre-Covid numbers and not just from the UK. We are seeing registrations from across Europe turn up in person”.What is selling well? Everything sells at Euro Auctions as the crowd sets the pace for the sale as all sales are unreserved. In the last three months, making good money have been the mid-range machinery such as 6t excavators, backhoes, telehandlers and wheeled loaders”.

Here are my Top-Picks for recent sales in late 2022

Hitachi ZX300LC-7 700 mm Tracks 20TonExc 2021 145000
Hitachi ZX135USBL-7 700mm Rubber Block Pads 10TonExc 2021 87500
CAT 313FLGC 700mm Pads 10TonExc 2018 53000
Kobelco SK140SRLC-5 700mm Pads 10TonExc 2019 62000
Kubota KX080-4A2 Rubber Tracks, Blade 6TonExc 2020 54000
Kubota U56-5 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset Miniexc 2020 40500
Kubota U55-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset Miniexc 2019 30000
Kubota U48-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset Miniexc 2019 27000
Kubota KX027-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset Miniexc 2021 25750
CAT 730 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck Artdump 2019 172000
Volvo A30G 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck Artdump 2016 137000
Bell B20E 6x6 LGP Articulated Dumptruck Artdump 2017 84000
Hydrema 912F 4x4 Articulated Dumptruck Artdump 2018 50000
Hidromek HMK 102B Turbo Powershift Backhoe Loader Backhoe 2016 38500
Scania S580 V8 6x2, Fassi F820 Crane TracUnit 2019 215000
DAF CF450 8x4 Tipper Lorry, Steel Body TipperTr 2021 78000

Top 10 Brands - Stock Categories Over the Ramp

To gain an overview of the most popular equipment brands of 2022, these are the numbers of makes going over the ramp at Euro Auctions, 2022 in the following categories:

• Telehandlers
• All Terrain Dump Trucks
• Backhoe Loaders
• Skidsteer Loaders
• Wheeled Loaders
• Mini Excavators
• 6t Excavators
• 10t Excavators
• 20t Excavators

What was hot and what was selling well in late 2022

Mini-Excavators
2020 Bobcat E50 EM Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 30,000
2020 Kubota U56-5 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 40,500
2019 Kubota U55-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped (1,770 Hours) 28,000
2019 Komatsu PC55MR-5 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 33,500
2019 Komatsu PC55MR-5M0 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 33,500
2017 Komatsu PC55MR-3 400mm Rubber Block Pads, Blade, Offset, 22,000
2017 Hitachi ZX55U-5A CLR Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 27,000
2014 Kubota KX057-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 23,000
2015 Takeuchi TB235 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 21,000
2014 Hitachi ZX29U-3 CLR Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 16,000
2014 New Holland E29B SR Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 14,000
2012 Doosan DX27Z Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, QH, Piped 13,000
2016 Bobcat E19 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, QH, Expanding Undercarriage 12,000
2014 Kubota KX019-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 12,000
2014 Takeuchi TB219 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 9,

6T Excavators
2021 Wacker Neuson EZ80 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, Reverse Camera, A/C 56,000
2020 Doosan DX85R-3 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, Piped, Aux. Piping, A/C 43,500
2021 Kubota KX080-4A2 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, Reverse Camera, A/C 54,000
2020 Kubota KX080-4A2 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, Reverse Camera, A/C 54,000
2019 Kubota KX080-4A 450mm Pads, Blade, Offset, A/C 38,000
2017 Kubota KX080-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, A/C 34,000
2016 Kubota KX080-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset 30,000
2015 Kubota KX080-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, A/C 28,500
2014 Kubota KX080-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped, Aux. Piping 28,500
2017 Volvo ECR88D Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped, A/C 36,000
2018 CAT 308E2CR 450mm Rubber Block Pads, Blade, Offset, Reverse Camera 38,000
2014 Hitachi ZX85USB-5A Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, A/C 23,000
2013 Hitachi ZX85USB-5A 450mm Rubber Block Pads, Blade, Offset, A/C 22,500
2015 Yanmar VIO80-1A Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped, A/C 29,000
2015 Volvo ECR88D Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped A/C 29,500
2015 Takeuchi TB260 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, A/C 27,000

10 T Excavators
2018 Volvo EC180EL 700mm Pads, Reverse & Blind Spot Camera, A/C 49,500
2019 Doosan DX160LC-5 High Track, 800mm Pads, Reverse Camera, A/C 34,500
2017 Doosan DX160LC-5 High Track, 700mm Pads, Reverse Camera, A/C 37,000
2021 Doosan DX140LC-5 700mm Pads, Reverse Camera, A/C 63,000
2019 Hitachi ZX130LCN-6 700mm Pads, VG, CV, QH, Piped, 3 Way Camera, A/C 54,000
2017 Hitachi ZX130LCN-6 700mm Pads, CV, QH, Piped, Reverse Camera, A/C 36,500
2020 Komatsu PC138US-11 700mm Pads, Piped, 3 Way Camera, A/C ( 2849 hrs ) 54,000
2018 CAT 313FLGC 700mm Pads, CV, QH, Piped, Reverse & Blind Spot, A/C 53,000
2019 Kobelco SK140SRLC-5 700mm Pads, Reverse & Blind Spot Camera, A/C 61,000
3971 - 2018 Kobelco SK140SRLC-5 700mm Pads, Reverse & Blind Spot Camera 53,000

20 T Excavators
2012 CAT 349E 600mm Pads, Demo Cage, Reverse Camera, A/C, Auto Lube 68,000
2007 Doosan DX420LC 600mm Pads, Piped, Reverse Camera, A/C, 1 Bucket 35,000
2018 Komatsu PC360LC-11 700mm Pads, CV, QH, Piped, 360 Camera, A/C 74,000
2014 Komatsu PC360LC-10 800mm Pads, CV, QH, Piped, Reverse Camera, A/C 45,000
2017 Volvo EC380EL 700mm Pads, QH, Piped, Reverse & Blind Spot Camera, A/C 89,000
2014 Volvo EC380EL 800mm Pads, Blind Spot & Reverse Camera, A/C 53,000
2014 Volvo EC380DL 600mm Pads, A/C 41,000
2014 CAT 336EL 700mm Pads, Demo Cage, Autolube, Reverse Camera, A/C 55,000
2012 CAT 336EL 700mm Pads, Piped, Aux. Piping, Reverse Camera, A/C 50,000
2016 JCB JS370LC 700mm Pads, CV, QH, Piped, Aux. Piping, Reverse Camera, A/C 48,000
2010 Hitachi ZX350LC-3 800mm Pads, Piped, Aux. Piping, Reverse Camera, A/C 39,500
2018 CAT 320 700mm Pads, Aux. Piping, 360 Camera, A/C (EPA Approved) 83,000
2016 Kobelco SK210LC-10 700mm Pads, CV, QH, Piped, Aux. Piping, A/C 37,000
2016 Doosan DX255LC-5 600mm Pads, Piped, Aux. Piping, Reverse Camera, A/C 40,000
2016 Komatsu PC210LC-10 700mm Pads, CV, QH, Piped, Reverse Camera, A/C 42,000
2016 Kobelco SK210LC-10 700mm Pads, CV, QH, Piped, Aux. Piping, A/C 37,000

Backhoe Loaders
2018 JCB 3CX P21 ECO Turbo Powershift Sitemaster Backhoe Loader, A/C 37,000
2013 JCB 3CX P21 ECO Turbo Powershift Backhoe Loader, QH, Piped, SRS 30,500
2016 Hidromek HMK 102B Turbo Powershift Backhoe Loader, Piped, SRS, A/C 38,500
2016 Hidromek HMK 102B Turbo Powershift Backhoe Loader, SRS, A/C 37,000
2011 CAT 432E Turbo Powershift Backhoe Loader, 4 in 1 Bucket, Forks 35,000
2008 New Holland B110B-4PT Turbo Backhoe Loader, 23,000

Dozers
2018 Komatsu D65PX-18 Straight Blade & Tilt, Reverse Camera, A/C 85,000
2017 Komatsu D65PX-18 Straight Blade & Tilt, Reverse Camera, A/C 77,000
2015 CAT D6T LGP Straight Blade & Tilt, Reverse Camera, A/C 90,000
2014 CAT D6T LGP Straight Blade & Tilt, Multi Tyne Ripper, Reverse Camera, A/C 78,000
2014 Komatsu D61PXI-23 6 Way Pat Blade, GPS, Reverse Camera, A/C 79,000
2008 CAT D6N LGP 6 Way Pat Blade, Reverse Camera, A/C 33,000
2010 Komatsu D51PX-22 6 Way Pat Blade, A/C 36,500

Articulated Dumptrucks
2021 Volvo A30G 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Heated Body, A/C 233,000
2019 Volvo A30G 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Tail Gate, Reverse Camera, A/C, 170,000
2019 CAT 730 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Tail Gate, Reverse Camera, A/C 172,000
2016 Bell B40D 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Tail Gate, Reverse Camera, A/C 64,000
2016 Volvo A30G 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Reverse Camera, A/C 137,000
2016 Volvo A25G 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Reverse Camera, A/C 98,000
2014 Hydrema 922D 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Reverse Camera, A/C 60,000
2007 Volvo A25E 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Reverse Camera, A/C 40,000
2018 Hydrema 912F 4x4 Articulated Dumptruck, Reverse Camera, A/C 50,000
2007 Volvo A25D 6x6 Articulated Dumptruck, Reverse Camera, A/C 31,500

Wheeled Loaders
2020 Doosan DL420 Wheeled Loader, Reverse Camera, A/C 92,000
2018 Doosan DL450-5 Wheeled Loader, Auto Lube, Reverse Camera, A/C 60,000
2015 CAT 962M Wheeled Loader, Auto Lube, QH, Reverse Camera, WLI, A/C 60,000
2017 Volvo L150H Wheeled Loader, Stick Steering CDC System 86,000
2019 Hyundai HL960XT Wheeled Loader, Reverse Camera, A/C 49,000
2014 Case 1021F Wheeled Loader, Auto Lube, Reverse Camera, WLI, A/C 27,000
2015 Case 721F Wheeled Loader, QH, WLI, Reverse Camera, A/C 20,000
2008 Volvo L110F Wheeled Loader, QH, Auto Lube, Reverse Camera, WLI, A/C, 35,000

Wheeled Excavators
2020 Bobcat E50 EM Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, QH, Piped 30,000
2020 Kubota U56-5 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, Piping, A/C (EPA Marked) 40,500
2019 Kubota U55-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped (1,770 Hours) 28,000
2019 Komatsu PC55MR-5M0 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped 33,500
2017 Komatsu PC55MR-3 400mm Rubber Block Pads, Blade, Offset, CV, Piped 22,000
2017 Hitachi ZX55U-5A CLR Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped, A/C 27,000
2017 Yanmar VIO50-6A Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, Hydraulic QH, Piped 25,000
2017 Takeuchi TB250 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped 23,000
2016 Volvo EC55C Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped, Aux. Piping, A/C 19,000
2047 - 2015 JCB 8055RTS Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped 18,000
2014 Kubota KX057-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, CV, QH, Piped 23,000
2015 Kubota U55-4 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, 21,000
2059 - 2014 Bobcat E50 EM Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, QH, Piped, A/C 20,000
2060 - 2010 Volvo EC55C Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, QH, Piped, A/C 15,000
2061 - Hyundai R55-7 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, QH, Piped 10,500
2062 - Airman AX50-3 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, QH, Piped 9,500
2063 - 2020 Bobcat E45 Rubber Tracks, Blade, Offset, QH, Piped 26,500

What to Look for in 2023 - Register for upcoming Euro Auction & Yoder & Frey Sales

Maguire Agri Contracts Trillick N’ Ireland 21st January
Euro Auctions Leeds UK 25-28 January
Euro Auctions Dormagen Germany 1-2 February
Yoder & Frey Florida USA 15-18 February
Euro Auctions Brisbane Australia 25 February
Euro Auctions Dromore UK 24-25 February
Yoder & Frey Florida USA 9 March
Euro Auctions Zaragoza Spain 21 March