The Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn. (FEMA) recently released the results of its 2019 Business Profile & Financial Performance Report, and survey samples from their manufacturing members indicate the labor shortage as a top industry concern and selling equipment wholesale to dealers as an increasingly successful practice.

Almost 72% of respondents polled the on-going labor shortage as the top threat to profitability in 2019. Other concerns for members were “health of the agriculture industry” at 69% indicating it as a threat to profitability, as well as the cost of health insurance at 39%, dealer purity issues at 31% and federal regulations at 28%.

When asked about how they sell their equipment, 43% of manufacturers indicated that they sell directly to dealers, as well as 24% selling wholesale to dealers, and 19% selling their equipment themselves. The top 50% most profitable members to take the survey (based on ROI), however, were 12% less likely to sell their equipment directly to dealers. They were also 4% more likely to sell their equipment at wholesale to dealers and 3% more likely to sell their equipment themselves.

Sales through independent reps, farm supply stores, and the internet each polled in the single-digit percentages.