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.
USDA reports that as of July 2, the condition of both corn and soybeans remain behind the 5-year average. The ag agency says that 68% of the U.S. corn crop is in “good” (55%) or “excellent” (13%) condition as of last Sunday.
Deere & Co., best known for its dominance in farm equipment industry, made a big and unexpected move on June 1 when it announced it would be expanding the reach of its Construction & Forestry division by acquiring the German construction equipment maker Wirtgen Group. Most industry analysts covering the heavy equipment market agree that the acquisition represented a major strategic acquisition that will strengthen the company’s equipment operations on several fronts.
The condition of the U.S. corn crop is changed only slightly compared to a week ago, but it still lags the 5-year average, according to USDA’s latest Crop Progress report.
During the last few years, dealers have been extremely conservative with their revenue growth projections for the precision farming segment of their businesses. This is a direct reflection of their customers’ more prudent purchasing habits.
With 100% of the corn planted in the 18 states that accounted for 92% of the 2016 corn acreage, USDA reported that 94% of corn acres have emerged as of June 11. This compares with 86% a week earlier, 95% last year on this date, and the 5-year average of 94%.
Last year, we worked with the Equipment Dealers Assn. (EDA) to share the results of its Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey with our 14,000-plus print subscribers of Farm Equipment, a report that we’re in the middle of right now for the 2017 edition.
In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Associated Equipment Distributors, we look at President Trump's tariff reduction on ag equipment, the latest dealer sales forecasts, and how high input costs are keeping farmer sentiment down.
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