It was with great relief to farmers that fine weather prevailed last week. Many of them are still in catch-up mode. I was talking to one farmer who told me that he is five weeks behind schedule. He wasted no time getting his tractor and implements out into the fields, working long hours in order to catch up on lost time.
It is in our interest that our commercial customers are doing well. If they are making money they are likely to re-invest and upgrade their equipment.
Farmers have been having a hard time of late and this is showing in the tractor sales statistics. According to the Central Statistics Office, tractor sales for the first three months of 2024 are down 13% compared to the same period last year. There are many reasons for the reduction on new tractor sales. Lower farm incomes and high interest rates are having an effect on demand.
While some dealers are experiencing a slowdown in sales, New Holland dealers, in particular, are facing a further potential worry. An industrial dispute in England may have an impact on the supply of New Holland tractors. There is some unease among CNH Industrial’s factory workers at its UK assembly line in Basildon. The factory, which is located on a 100 acre site in Essex, have been assembling New Holland tractors for more than 60 years. It employs around 800 staff. The workers are set to strike tomorrow (Tuesday) over pay increases. They comprise nearly the entire shop floor of the factory (around 500 staff) and will strike this week from May 14-16. More strikes are planned for May 21-23, and May 28-30. You can read more about this in today's Update here.
The knock on effect of the strike will compromise the supply of New Holland tractors. However, it will probably be a while before we feel the impact of this, not, perhaps, until the already high stocks in dealers showrooms are used up. It would be very frustrating to be in a position to turn customers away because of unavailable stock.
However, there is some good news on the horizon for Irish dealers. Last Thursday, the Irish government announced its allocation of grants under the latest round of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (‘SCEP’). A total of just over €26 million has been awarded to over 900 sports groups who were successful in their applications for various types of equipment. The funding is to be used specifically to purchase equipment. Dealers should be able to benefit from some of this €26 million funding. It will be important to get your marketing campaign up and running in order to take advantage of the grants.
A full list of the sporting organisations who were successful, and are sorted by county, is available to view or download on the government website. It is worth looking at as the list also includes what equipment each organisation will be purchasing. Here is a direct link to the list.
