This year, auction prices on all types of construction equipment have been strong.
I have been tracking auction prices on heavy equipment for 34 years now, and in the past year alone, I’ve compiled 3,359 auction prices on skid steers.
30-Year Snapshot of Skid Steer Auction Prices
The year started with a definite bang as the first two weeks of January produced the third, fourth and fifth skid steer auction prices north of $100,000. Twenty years ago, in 2003, the highest auction price that year on a skid steer was $24,500 for a Bobcat S250 sold in Princeton, Minn.
A decade later, the top price on a skid steer was up to $50,000 for a 2008 John Deere CT332 with 250 hours that sold at a Greenfield, Ind. auction.
This past January, those prices were more than doubled. An auction in Tuscaloosa, Ala., featured a 2022 Deere 331G skid steer with 90 hours that sold for $120,000. Six days later in Hazlehurst, Ga., a 2021 Deere 333G skid steer with 107 hours went for $116,000 and a 2019 Caterpillar 299D3 with 130 hours brought $112,500.
Excavators, Loaders and Dozers are Popular Too
Other red-hot sectors from the used construction equipment field the past two years include mini/compact excavators, wheel loaders and dozers.
I’ve seen 13 Kubota KX080-4 compact excavators sell at auction the past two years from $85,000 up to a high of $102,000 for a 2019 model with only 35 hours.
The seven highest auction prices ever for Bobcat mini excavators, from $63,000 to $76,000, all happened between May and December 2022. So far in 2023, the highest auction price for a mini excavator was in Georgia in April. A 2021 model E50R2 with 181 hours sold for $63,000.
Prices Could Soften Soon
The pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues pinched availability for all types of new equipment. Even more important to note was the historic bottoming out of used inventory levels on dealer lots, which climaxed in spring and early summer 2022.
There was a wide gap between high buyer demand and low supply from fall 2021 to summer 2023, hence the rising and record auction prices. However, there has been a noticeable rise in the supply of used units for sale on dealer lots across North America.
As it stands right now, it looks like 2022 will be the high-water mark for used construction equipment values. The auction data at MachineryPete.com tells the tale.
