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May 9, 2022

Tractor Sales Steady in April

Sales of Agricultural tractors were down in April by 3% on the same month last year and are now 11% behind for the 2022 year to date. This is still a strong level of sales for the industry which continues to be severely hampered by supply issues.

Exacerbating the challenges associated with getting machines, most members are now reporting solid price increases being passed on by their factories after a number of years of largely absorbing these movements.  Of particular note is the supply of steel with Ukraine reportedly responsible for a large share of the world’s production being severely impacted leading to price increases across the board.

Demand for Agricultural Machines is presently very strong worldwide and here in Australia with the Temporary Full Expensing Program set to run until June 2023 along with continued demand for Australia’s farming produce, we expect activity to remain strong.  Indeed a recent survey of dealers has found that the majority expect turnover to remain unchanged for the outlook period

Looking at sales across the nation, results varied somewhat in April. Beginning in NSW sales were again down 21% for the month and are now 13% behind last year. Queensland was up 12% as deliveries delayed in March due to the inclement weather took place to be now 1% behind and Victoria was 19% up on last April due mainly to supply of small hp units and is now 4.2% down YTD.

Sales in Western Australia recorded another drop this time 5% for the month to be 27% off YTD , South Australia also dropped 8%. Tasmania was again down, this time by 15% whilst sales into the Northern Territory were down 21%.

 

Taking a look at the performance reporting categories, the small under 40 hp (30kw) category was strongly up 20% to be 2% off YTD. The 40 to 100hp (30-75kw) range was up 3% in the month to remain 2% ahead YTD and the 100 to 200hp (75-150 kw) category was down 18%.

The large 200 hp (150kw) PLUS range was again down, this time by  15% compared to the same month last year and is now 33% off YTD. The big end of the range is experiencing the worst of the supply chain delays as members report lengthy lead times out of the factories due to everything from steel supply to the ongoing shortage of computer chips.

Combine Harvester sales are yet to commence for the year, however, dealers are reporting healthy pre order interest for machines which should lead to another strong year’s sales.

Baler sales were down in April and are now down 20% compared with the last year and sales of Out – Front Mowers finished down a whopping 44%.

Planning is well underway for the 2022 TMA Conference which has been scheduled for Wednesday July 20th to be held at the Hyatt Essendon Fields in Melbourne. Tickets are now on sale and can be found on the TMA Website www.tma.asn.au