Dealers’ Inventory Levels Improve

Farm equipment dealers expect a better-but-not-booming 2018. Among bright spots for the year is a significant gain over last year in inventories.

The dealer sentiment report for January from Ag Equipment Intelligence says the huge backlog of new and used equipment continues to diminish.

A year ago, a net 40 percent of dealers reported their new equipment inventory was “too high” (45 percent said “too high,” 50 percent said “about right,” and 5 percent said “too low”). This year, a net 22 percent of dealers say the new wholegoods unit levels are too high (32 percent “too high,” 57 percent “about right,” and 11 percent “too low”). That’s an 18 percent year-over-year improvement.

Used equipment levels are showing the same trend. The most recent survey results indicate that a net 27 percent of dealers reported used equipment inventory as “too high.” In the January 2017 findings, a net 43 percent of dealers reported used equipment inventory as “too high.”

Source: Ag Equipment Intelligence