Swamped

摘要

From the vantage point of a helicopter hovering 1,000 ft above an ocean of heavy equipment, the Ritchie Bros, yard in Davenport, Fla., looks like a giant sandbox flooded with construction toys. In between the neatly arranged rows of excavators, loaders, dump trucks and cranes are colorful dots-men, women and children-weaving in and out of aisles in search of a bargain. In the center of the action is a white building where buyers are sitting comfortably in jeansrnand flannel shirts inside an open-air auction theater. As small backhoes drive up on the main ramp, an auctioneer in an orange baseball cap belts out a tongue-twisting singsong: "A 13,14, bidda-bidda 14 thousand...."