Farm equipment sales are still in overdrive, a welcome sign for equipment manufacturers.
Commercial tractor sales in the 100+ horsepower category are up 38.2% year-to-date since July 2020 and combine sales are also up 19.2%.
Soundbite: “You look at commodity prices and farmer attitudes and that gives you a pretty good indication of where ag is. I think this (sales trend) is real and not pandemic driven,” noted Curt Blades of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
Builders feel it too: “The demand is red hot as our farmers are finally making some money again,” Eric Hansotia, CEO of AGCO, said. “We’re seeing the farmer making money now, (and) they’re refreshing their fleet.”
But supply chain snafus haven’t gone anywhere. “Fortunately, since ag is considered an essential business, a lot of those disruptions we’ve been able to plan for, but it doesn’t make it any easier,” Blades said.
Total tractor inventory has decreased by more than 37% at the end of the second quarter of 2021 compared to 2020.