Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Breaks Registered Bidder Records at Phoenix Auction

Market Wire, February, 2007

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (TSX: RBA)(NYSE: RBA), the world's largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, today announced the results of its two-day, multi-million dollar unreserved auction held at its permanent auction site in Phoenix, Arizona. The unreserved public auction, which sold over 2,000 items, generated gross auction sales in excess of US$26 million and broke both in-person and online registered bidder records for an auction held by the Company in Phoenix.

"There was a lot of excitement leading up to our Phoenix auction - our customers were really interested to see what things would sell for," said Dan White, Ritchie Bros. Regional Manager. "There was a really nice spread of trucks and equipment at our sale and we saw a very strong market during the two-day auction."

Over 2,400 registered bidders from 18 countries, 45 U.S. states and 11 Canadian provinces and territories participated in the February 15 and 16 auction.

Over 800 bidders registered to use the Company's rbauctionBid-Live real-time bidding service, which is the most online bidders to ever register for a Ritchie Bros. auction in the western United States. Internet participants purchased more than US$5 million worth of trucks and equipment.

"Prices were strong across the board, and unused Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks were particularly strong," said White.

There are over 42,000 truck and equipment items featured in 37 unreserved industrial auctions and more than 100 unreserved agricultural auctions in the upcoming Ritchie Bros. auction calendar. Details on all upcoming Ritchie Bros. auctions, including equipment that will be sold, are available on www.rbauction.com .

About Ritchie Bros.

Ritchie Bros. is the world's largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, operating through over 110 locations in more than 25 countries around the world. The Company sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial equipment including equipment utilized in the construction, transportation, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum, marine, real estate, and agricultural industries. The Company maintains a website at www.rbauction.com .

Investors and potential investors should note that this information may not be indicative of the overall financial performance of the Company for this or any period.

Contacts: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Kim Schulz Corporate Communications Manager (604) 273-7564 or 1-800-663-8457 Email: media@rbauction.com Website: www.rbauction.com