Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Breaks its One-Day Auction Record at Large Minnesota Auction

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--March 22, 2006--Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (TSX:RBA) held its largest one-day auction in its history at its Minneapolis, Minnesota auction held March 21, 2006 with gross auction sales of more than US$31 million.

"We had one of the nicest lineups of late model equipment," said Andy Artley, Ritchie Bros. Regional Manager for Minnesota Great Lakes region. "The crowd was large on auction day and the prices were strong. It was a great day for both buyers and sellers of equipment. These buyers are anxious to get their new equipment items working for them."

Over 2,400 people from 20 countries, 46 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces registered to bid on over 1,200 lots in the unreserved auction. More than 690 internet bidders, using the Company's real-time bidding service, rbauctionBid-Live, purchased over US$4.6 million worth of trucks and equipment items. The internet participants were buyers or runner-up bidders on 26% of the lots available for online bidding.

There are currently over 32,200 truck and equipment items that will be sold at 43 unreserved industrial auctions and 108 unreserved agricultural auctions on the Ritchie Bros. calendar over the next few months. Details on all upcoming Ritchie Bros. auctions, including equipment listings, 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 web site 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.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (TSX:RBA)