Activity in the tractor sales market was reasonably steady in the month of March with around 1,000 tractors sold across the nation which was 3% down on the same month last year. This puts the year-to-date figure at around 7% behind the same time last year and comes in the face of some challenging conditions in the market with parts of the nation in drought and other parts of the country experiencing heavy rain.
Underlying order inquiry rates remain solid which gives rise to a level of optimism that the market will continue to improve however with the general uncertainty surrounding the current federal election cycle combined with the impact of tariffs being imposed in the US, one cannot be certain that activity won’t slip back here in Australia.
We have yet to fully digest the likely impact the tariffs will have on tractor sales given that Australian government has decided not to impose reciprocal tariffs on the US, however the underlying cost of product due to tariffs being imposed on goods being imported to America will likely have an impact on the sale price of machines being sent here. We can’t be overly optimistic for the future and remain in a state of “wait and see”.
Looking around the nation Queensland experienced a drop of 4.2% in the month to be 3.4% behind year to date. New South Wales enjoyed its first rise in sometime up 5% for the month but remain 6% behind on a year-to-date basis, Victoria did it tough off the back of dry parts of the state and were down 9% to remain at 12% below the same time last year. Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory are all doing it tough however W.A. enjoyed a solid boost, up 14% for the month to remain only 3% behind year to date.
Sales of all machinery categories were down for the month except for the 100 to 200hp (75-150 kw) range which was up 3.6%, and remains 6% behind year to date, The under 40 hp (30kw) range took a hit, down 8% however it has been in solid territory for the first few months of this year to be 9% ahead.
The 40 to 100 hp (30-75kw) range was down 1% and remains 5% down YTD and the large 200 hp (150kw) PLUS range continues to struggle, down another 8% this month to be 28% behind for the year so far.
Combine Harvester Sales enjoyed a little bit of a bounce this month off the back of some sharp incentives from manufacturers, however the outlook for the full year remains one of somewhat dampened expectations given the very strong past couple of years we’ve had in this market segment.
Baler sales continue to struggle, down another 14% for the month to be 32% behind year-to-date and the sale of Out-front Mowers has dried up considerably down another 40% on the same time last year in what is considerably is proving to be a very tough market.
As has been previously mentioned the TMA Annual Conference is scheduled to be held in Melbourne this year on July 24. The full lineup of speakers will be released shortly, and we expect to be having tickets for sale sometime in the month of April.
This promises to be another great event, and we look forward to welcoming another strong crowd.