Rural Equipment Dealers Forecast Good Year, Share Worries

Most rural lifestyle dealers across North America expect solid revenue growth this year, following last year’s strong growth.

Rural equipment dealers forecast another good year for overall and aftermarket sales, according to Rural Lifestyle Dealer’s 2017 Dealer Business Trends & Outlook survey.

Eighty-four percent of dealers think 2017 will be as good or better than 2016 for total revenue. More than 90 percent think aftermarket revenue will also be as good or better than last year. Results of the 2016 survey were equally strong.

Nearly 50 percent of dealers say their number of rural lifestyle customers has increased 5 to 19 percent in the last five years. Almost 13 percent say their customer base has grown by 20 percent or more.

Topping the list for unit sales potential is the zero-turn mower. About 60 percent of dealers expect unit sales increases. Next on the list are tractors under 40 horsepower (57 percent of dealers expect an increase in unit sales); rotary cutters (45 percent expect increase) and front-end loaders (40 percent).

At the top of the list of products to be added is utility vehicles; 36 percent of dealers say they’ll add the product line this year. While dealers forecast rotary cutters and front-end loaders as two strong categories for driving revenue, the products did not make the list of inventory expansions, suggesting dealers are content to meet an increase in demand with their current lineups.

Dealers also shared their priority concerns in the survey. Sixty percent say they are most concerned about finding good employees. Rounding out the top five worries:

• Healthcare programs and costs
• Low sales margins
• Credit worthiness of customers
• Manufacturer pressure for dealer purity.