Heavy equipment auction sign of the times in Alberta

The stands out at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneershave notexactly been empty this week, but it seems many of the winning bids are coming from out of town.

"There's just a ton of people here looking for the deal right nowand they're wondering if it's going to be here in the spring," saidClayton Thomas, aYukon building contractor.

With the American dollar so strong, it's the buyers south of the border cashing in.

"You know 75 centsright? They're making 25 cents a buck," saidDallas Roberts ofChristina River Enterprises in Fort McMurray. "It's killing us. For the guys that want to, they're running it up and we don't want to pay for it, and they don't know what they're buying because they're on the net."

Brian Bryden, who runs a construction business in Thorhild, isn't buying at all.

Brian Glenn, senior vice president of sales forRitchieBros.in western Canada,said he's seen slow times here beforeand knows it'll change.

"If you've watched any of the gear sell, buyers as far away as Australia and the Middle East and obviously a lot of U.S. participation on the internet, so maybe where it's one market has slowed down a bit there's always somewhere else in the world that has demand."