An upsurge in the civil and mining sectors is fuelling heavy demand in the second-hand market for heavy equipment, according to Lloyds Auctions.

“People can’t get their equipment fast enough, there is a strong demand across the industries of civil, agriculture and mining,”  Lloyds Auctions head of business development Glenn Screech said.

Lloyds had stepped up to weekly auctions, with many achieving six to seven figures, he said.

“For example, we have several auctions coming up this week with major brands including CAT and Komatsu gear,” Mr Screech said.

He said construction and mining companies upgrading their existing heavy equipment to brand-new equipment needed to have their jobs scheduled out almost a year in advance due to the delay of supply.

Smaller contractors were finding alternative ways to source their heavy equipment by purchasing previous models from those who upgraded, Mr Screech said.

“In the last year Lloyds Auctions conducted many auctions containing civil and agriculture gear; with many achieving 100 per cent sell-through rates and many items well above their reserve prices,” he said.

Plant hire group iSeekplant reports a mixed bag when it comes to demand for mining and construction equipment in Queensland specifically.

“We saw the demand for plant and equipment start to grow in Queensland – in areas south of Bundaberg to Ballina and west to Toowoomba and surrounds – about 24 months ago, with the establishment of several major infrastructure projects in the south-east corner,” iSeekplant chief executive officer Sally McPherson said.

“The market had contracted prior to that, with the downturn in the mining industry, causing several larger plant hire companies to close.

“There was a time there, about 12 months ago, where there was extreme shortages of some of the larger machines that used to service the mining industry.

“SEQ has boomed for 18 months, but has very recently softened in and around Brisbane, as some major projects come to a close, and others haven’t started. We see this as purely a timing issue, and expect to see a resurgence in early February.”