With the 2019 sales year rapidly approaching, North American farm equipment dealers are taking a close look at their equipment inventories, with more than one-third of them noting that combine inventories are “too high” in the latest Dealer Sentiments & Business Conditions Update survey.
Earlier this year, Ag Equipment Intelligence surveyed U.S. and Canadian farm equipment dealers on their major sources for equipment loans. Overall, 61% of dealers reported that customer loans for purchasing equipment came from their manufacturers. But the percentage varied widely depending on the brand of equipment.
While more optimistic than they were a year ago, North American farm equipment dealers continue to acknowledge that booming machinery sales in 2018 probably isn’t in the offing. But the fact that their wholegoods inventory levels have improved significantly from a year ago is creating a more level playing field in which to operate.
Despite ongoing concerns with low commodity prices, North American farm equipment dealers are far more optimistic about their business prospects than they were a year ago.
In today’s newscast, we discuss the improvement in North American dealers forecast for 2018, the best precision bets for 2018, the probability that La Niña could kick start the ag markets, and improved sales for Buhler, Claas and Krone.
It has been nearly 6 years since North American farm equipment dealers expressed the level optimism about their revenue prospects as they have for 2018. In 2012, more than 55% of dealers expected revenues from the sales of new farm machinery to increase in 2013.
North American farm equipment dealers are still cautious when it comes to projecting sales growth for all of 2017. At the same time, some dealers are seeing signs that sales trends are improving.
Overall, the number of “big dealers” of farm machinery in the U.S. and Canada did not increase significantly between the time the 2016 “Big Dealer” report was published and the compilation of the newest edition in 2017.
Each monthly issue of Ag Equipment Intelligence is like getting one-on-one personal advice from the world's most trusted ag equipment industry experts. Advice that hasn't been watered down or distorted by outside influence, providing the latest and most insightful farm equipment analysis. AEI explores where the ag equipment industry is going — not just where it's been. No filler. No bias. No conflict of interest. You can access the PDF issue archive by clicking here.
The announcement of a partnership between New Holland and Bluewhite was one of the big precision stories of the summer. West Coast New Holland dealers now have the rights to sell, distribute and service Bluewhite’s aftermarket autonomy kits.