Tractor sales slow as dealer yards fill up

There were 1000 new tractors sold in Australia for the month of March, representing a 29 per cent drop compared to the same month last year and now sits 22 per cent behind year-to-date (YTD), the Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia (TMA) reported.

“As we have been reporting for the past few months, this level of activity is back to what is considered normal following the intense activity of the prior two years,” said TMA executive director, Gary Northover.

“Indeed, an annual figure of 12,000 units, if achieved, would represent a soft landing following these boom times.”

While sales activity remains healthy, supply shortages that were rampant in the past are now being replaced by overstocking in dealers’ yards, the TMA reported.

“Supply chain challenges have made it very difficult to order just the right amount of stock to be delivered at the right time, consequently machines that were ordered some 12 months ago are now only just arriving at a time when demand has slipped.”

All states recorded a drop in sales in March when compared to the same time last year. Queensland was down 29 per cent year-on-year (YOY) to be 19 per cent behind YTD, while NSW was down 36 per cent and is now 30 per cent behind for the year.

Victoria was off 27 per cent YOY to be 24 per cent below last year while Western Australia reported its first drop in a while, down 13 per cent to be in line with the same time last year.

South Australia was down 35 per cent, now down 25 per cent YTD and Tasmania was off 15 per cent YOY. Finally, sales in the NT was 14 per cent down YOY.

The 200hp-and-over segment once again performed the best out of all the horsepower categories, however it was three per cent below the same month last year but up 50 per cent YTD.

The small under 40hp category was down by 26 per cent YOY to be 34 per cent behind YTD.

“This segment, known as the leisure market, is most susceptible to high interest rates so we anticipate challenges here for some time to come,” Northover said.

The 40 to 100hp range was also down 43 per cent and is now behind 36 per cent YTD. Lastly, the 100 to 200hp category was down 29 per cent to be 25 per cent off for the year.

Sales of combine harvesters are yet to materialise with 89 units sold thus far this year compared to 93 last year. Baler sales finished 25 per cent down on the same month last year with difficult growing conditions for hay but is still five per cent ahead YTD.

Finally, sales of out-front mowers were up by around 23 per cent in the month.

The TMA is once again gearing up for its annual conference, this time scheduled to take place at the iconic MCG in Melbourne on Thursday, July 18, 2024.

This year’s event will continue on last year’s theme – Towards 2030, where guest speakers will touch on critical industry issues such as Artificial Intelligence in Ag, attracting women to the workplace, effective marketing strategies, personal financial planning and more.

As always, the conference will feature a regular economic update from Westpac's Justin Smirk and the state of industry report from Kynetec. 

For more information on the 2024 TMA conference, visit TMA’s website.