The market for tractor sales in Australia has seen further declines in October and now sit 24% behind the same time last year.
Whilst the level of decline appears high, there has been around 12,000 tractors sold already in 2023 which is in line with what has traditionally been regarded as a strong year for sales.
For some months now we have been reporting a slowdown in demand due to the predicted onset of drier weather along with the ongoing increases in interest rates, clearly there is still solid demand for new machinery in the market as recent rains have brought some encouragement to farmers in the near term.
Dealers continue to report solid inventory levels across the board with the biggest challenge being able to supply the precise machine being requested. Supply chain bottlenecks appear to be easing due mainly to the lower volumes of machines coming into the country. This is particularly the case for containerised freight which is moving smoothly.
Ro-Ro (Roll On Roll Off) freight continues to present the odd challenge due mainly to the stringent quarantine regulations in place which can have the effect of sidelining entire shipments if a single problem is detected. This can be particularly stressful for time sensitive deliveries such as those required for harvest.
Looking around the nation, all states have experienced significant drops in the month, beginning with Queensland, down 26% against the same month last year to be 21% behind year to date. NSW was down 34% to be 25% off YTD, Victoria was off 27% and is now 28% behind year to date.
Sales in Western Australia were in line with last year and remains 19% behind last year. South Australia recorded another big decline, off 45% and now sits 20% behind YTD and Tasmania was off 17% for the month, 21% down YTD with sales in the NT finishing 8% down, remaining 13% down YTD.
Falls were experienced in all machine categories where we find that the small under 40 hp (30kw) category was down by 41% for the month and is now 25% behind year to date. The 40 to 100hp (30-75kw) range was also down 32% and is now 25% behind year to date, the 100 to 200hp (75-150 kw) category was down, this time by 19% and remains 25% behind YTD and finally the 200 hp (150kw) PLUS range slipped, down 8% remaining 16% behind last year.
Sales of Combine Harvesters have stalled somewhat and are now in line with last year with just under 800 units sold so far in 2023. Baler sales enjoyed another healthy rise and are now 15% ahead on a year-to-date basis and sales of Out – Front Mowers are down by around 4% compared with the same time last year.
In summary, there has been a noticeable pullback in machinery sales and whilst the current sales volumes can be described as good, we remain cautious about the outlook for 2024 where the full impact of climate conditions, commodity prices, machinery price rises, and higher interest rates have a fuller effect.
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