A report from US-based publisher Ag Equipment Intelligence says that “45 large dealer operations in North America operate, on average, nearly 23 stores [depots] each”.

The report says that, in all, there are 187 of what it describes as “dealership groups” operating there.

A report by Dave Kanicki, editor of the publication, went on to say: “[The number of] big dealers will continue to increase as smaller dealers continue to decrease. But, on average, the number of stores each of the big dealers operate has changed very little.”

Irish trend

Even here in Ireland, we’ve seen a move (albeit on an understandably smaller scale) toward larger and fewer dealers, with the remaining (enlarged) dealer operations each having multiple outlets.

A prime example of this is John Deere dealership TFM (Templetuohy Farm Machinery), which now has six depots – enabling it to cover a vast swath of the country (stretching from Wexford to Galway).

John Deere is seen as one of the major manufacturers driving this trend here in Ireland, though it’s becoming increasingly evident, for example, within the New Holland and Massey Ferguson networks.

Tractor sales in the US

Meanwhile, sales of new agricultural tractors in the US were up during April (compared to April 2018) in almost every category. That’s according to data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) in North America.

“Although the overall numbers continue to be strong, it’s a mixed bag when you get into specific categories,” explained Curt Blades, AEM’s senior vice president of agricultural services.

“However, farmers and ranchers across the country continue to face long-term uncertainty about re-investments in their operations with lowering commodity prices. There are also continuing concerns over trade and tariffs.”

Source: Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)

Further north, Canada’s sales numbers continue to struggle. The under-40hp tractor category was the only sector to see growth during April (compared to April 2018). Every other category experienced a decrease.

Likewise, self-propelled combine harvester sales there dropped by 26.7% during April.