RB Global Inc., an omnichannel marketplace company serving buyers of and sellers of commercial vehicles and heavy equipment, ran into multiple third-quarter challenges in the third quarter.

The company said gross transaction value fell 7% year over year to $3.6 billion, with declines stemming from lower average selling prices across the multiple market it serves. It noted demand was down across three main markets of construction, transportation and automotive.

Jim Kessler, CEO, RB Global Inc.

“The current environment, combined with the elevated volumes and prices we experienced last year due to the lingering impacts from COVID has created difficult year-on-year comparisons that mask the underlying progress of our growth initiatives,” CEO James Kessler said on a Q3 earnings call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.

He added: “Inventory sales revenue decreased 18% year-over-year to $201.9 million due to lower revenues from the commercial construction and transportation and automotive sectors.”

But RB Global also noted bright spots, including in international commerce and use of the company’s AI tools designed to help complete transactions.

“We continued to make progress in attracting new international buyers to our marketplace, achieving a record high percentage of vehicles sold to international buyers in the automotive sector,” Kessler said.

He added, “A key element of our international automotive salvage growth strategy is to enter new markets with partners that provide immediate scale. We’re excited to announce that we have been selected by Suncorp Group, a leading insurance provider in the Australian market” that deals with salvage products.

Kessler said RB Global expects start working on a multi-year contract with Suncorp in the first half of next year.

“This partnership could provide up to 65,000 units annually once we are fully operational,” he said. “We plan to accommodate this volume by strategically blending new greenfield locations and utilizing existing Ritchie Bros. locations and third-party yards.”

Kessler said Suncorp chose RB Global for its experience in the Australian market and its global IAA Inc. unit, which specializes in salvage transactions and is known for its digital technology applications for processing vehicles for marketplace transactions. He added that IAA provides a “cutting-edge machine vision AI that analyzes vehicle images to quantify damage” and a complementary AI tool for estimating vehicle value.

RB Global’s operations also include:

⦁ The flagship Ritchie Bros. marketplace for auction sales of commercial vehicles and heavy equipment assets.
⦁ Rouse Services, which provides end-to-end asset management and a performance benchmarking system.
⦁ SmartEquip Inc., a equipment lifec ycle management platform integrated with parts procurement from OEMs and dealers.
⦁ VeriTread LLC, an online marketplace for heavy haul transport.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, RB Global reported:
⦁ Total revenue decreased 4% year-over-year to $981.8 million.
⦁ Service revenue increased 1% year-over-year to $779.9 million.
⦁ Net income increased 20% year-over-year to $76.0 million.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, RB Global reported:
⦁ Total revenue increased 19% to $3.142.6 billion.
⦁ GTV increased 19% year over year to $11.80 billion.
⦁ Service revenue grew 29% to $2.49 billion
⦁ 7th line: Net income 142% to $294.4 million.

Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. [email protected].

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