The heady optimism of 24 months ago has lost some of its sparkle, but among farm machinery manufacturers and retailers, the glimmer hasn’t disappeared completely.
In 2008, both the sales of farm machinery and the Dow Jones industrial average were soaring. “2008 was our best year (for sales) since the 1970s,” says John Schmeiser, executive vice-president and CEO of the Canada West Equipment Dealers’ Association.
Demand for new farm equipment saw assembly plants working flat out. Some industry insiders were even calling it the start of a new golden age in agriculture. However, the global economic crisis changed all that.
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Even though sales for 2009 dropped off significantly, things haven’t been all that bleak for Canadian equipment dealers. “Our business and sales (for 2009) have been pretty strong — unexpectedly,” says Schmeiser. “If customers have good crops and relatively strong commodity prices, they will reinvest in their equipment, and that certainly was the case.”
According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, retail sales of four-wheel drive tractors last year in Canada were nearly unchanged from 2008, with 1,188 sold. Sales of all other tractors, though, were down 20 per cent, with sales reaching 22,009.
Combine sales were the real bright spot; they were up 17 per cent over 2008. Canadian farmers bought 2,589 of them.
Given that sales figures in 2008 represented a considerable spike over previous years, the 2009 numbers still made for reasonably good totals by comparison, with the big-three manufacturers all reporting year-end profits for their agricultural divisions. But according to VDMA, the German Engineering Federation, world-wide farm equipment sales will likely continue to slide in 2010, then start to recover in 2011.
