The number of trenchers and cable plows being sold at auction has dropped significantly over the past five years, according to the TopBid auction price service.
Excluding wheel trenchers, the number of newer used trenchers and cable plows (7- years-old and newer) on the auction block went from 254 in 2009 to 107 last year. The numbers become even more pronounced in 5-years-old-and-newer trenchers, which went from 174 sold in 2009 to 18 sold last year.
And through the end of May, only seven of the 5-years-old–and-newer trenchers and cable plows were sold at auction; at that rate, about 17 of these machines would be sold at auction at year’s end.
A look at financed new trencher data from Equipment Data Associates, which tracks the public Uniform Commercial Code-1 forms equipment lenders file after each transaction, offers part of the story.
New financed trencher sales in 2010 declined by 81 percent from their 2005 high of 1,678 units. And while new financed sales have risen steadily since 2011, financed used sales have been decreasing, from 1,168 units sold in 2011 to 953 last year. Taking a look at the May 1 to April 30 time period in the past two years, the number of financed used trenchers has decreased 5 percent.
But the industry’s dramatic sales dip in 2009-2010 only tells part of the story, say the two dominant players in trenchers, Ditch Witch and Vermeer. Throwing a wrench in auction sales of these machines is the fact that rental companies are using their own disposal avenues rather than going to auction.
“There’s been a huge amount of re-fleeting done by the top 10 national rental accounts, and they’ve taken a more direct approach of selling their used equipment versus taking it all at auction,” says Greg Wolfe, Ditch Witch eastern sales manager.
