Sales of agricultural tractors continued their strong run in April with a 19% rise on the same month last year. According to the Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia (TMA), the last 12 months have seen in excess of 15,500 tractors sold in this country, which is 38% ahead of the previous 12-month period. The last time sales were anywhere near these levels was back in 1984.
There are signs emerging of a “flattening of the curve” in activity in the month in some states with Victoria reporting a steady month in line with April last year now sitting 32% ahead for the year meanwhile Queensland was down 5% to be 40% up YTD.
NSW again the standout up 73% on the same time last year and now 95% for the YTD.
Western Australia sales picked up 20% to be 58% ahead for the year, sales in South Australia reported a 14% decrease for the month and finally Tasmania finished the month 7% ahead.
All performance reporting categories enjoyed rises again this month with the under 40hp (30kw) range up 24% for the month to be 55% ahead YTD. The 40 to 100hp (30-75kw) range was again up strongly 33% in the month (58% YTD), the 100 to 200hp (75-150kw) category was up 6%. (38% YTD) and the large 200 hp (150kw) PLUS range had another strong rise up 18% and is now 70% ahead for the year.
The order intake season for Combine Harvesters is now well underway and dealers are reporting strong demand for what is expected to be another great harvest season later this year. The past 12-month period has seen sales go past the 650-unit mark which is up from 530 for the previous 12 months.
Baler sales dipped for the month but are still up 34% on an annualised basis and sales of Out – Front Mowers were again strong and remain 32% ahead of the same time last year.
The level of demand being seen in the market continues to surprise with many suppliers reporting buyers bringing forward purchasing plans to take advantage of the Federal Governments financial incentives. The challenges in meeting this demand are showing no signs of abating however with shipping and port clearance delays having a significant impact on delivery times. We are receiving reports of a more than doubling of shipping times being compounded by the shortage of containers and the bottlenecks being experienced at Australia’s ports. As a result, suppliers are having great difficulty guaranteeing delivery times which is hampering confidence in the supply chain. To compensate for these delays, forward orders are now sitting at levels well above what would be considered normal posing a risk of oversupply in the event of a slowdown in demand. These challenges are not confined to the Agricultural machinery industry with Construction and Automotive likewise affected.
