What a crazy end to 2021, and what a crazy start to 2022. Lead times haven’t gotten better, and in some cases they have gotten worse. Chip shortages are still an issue, and we likely won’t see much relief in the near term.

2021 was uncharted territory that brought one surprise after another! 
Dealing with shortages, delays and uncertainty became the norm for dealers, customers and manufacturers. In addition, interim price increases, steel surcharges and freight increases made the equipment market a challenging place to navigate.

On November 22, 2021, I interviewed Tony LaPorta on the Moving Iron Podcast. Tony is a trader and brought up some excellent points during the interview. What made me think the most was his point about the cost of uncertainty and how the various markets are reacting. 

Last month, I talked about the used equipment manager and how the position is different from that of a remarketing manager. Both the remarketing manager and the used equipment manager share 85% of the same characteristics. The remaining 15% is where the most significant differences are.

Last month I wrote about the difference between a used equipment manager and remarketing manager. I am not sure I can do justice to both with just one article, so I will spend some time looking at what the used equipment manager does and what kind of person is needed.

In my opinion, there isn’t a better job in the ag equipment business than the used equipment guy. Used equipment is a commodity much like corn, soybeans, milk or cattle. Used equipment isn’t fluid or constant; it ebbs and flows with economic conditions of supply and demand.