YOKOHAMA -- On a scorching mid-July day, hundreds of huge hulks were slowly paraded along a 30-meter tarmac in front of a circus tent packed with sweaty buyers.
Instead of cattle, it was an auction of construction equipment, including road-graders, backhoes and dump trucks. The items were selling like hotcakes, but how long the fever will last is anyone's guess.
The bid prices for certain items shot up like the mercury for the day. The highest price fetched was 14.3 million yen.