Comment – Conflicting Views, on the Other Hand.

On the one hand, a few people like to call me for a grumble about the state of the agrimachinery supply chain, over time I have realised that a) I’m a listening ear b) I’m a trusted ear (as I usually keep ‘schtum’ about matters) and c) some folks glasses are always half full.

With that in mind, this week, I received last year’s accounts for a ‘big time’ Eastern multi branch UK dealer. They made for very interesting reading, and are indicative of the economic cycle we find ourselves in, ie high stock levels/valuations, a reduction in trading profits, you can write the rest. And yet, these are lagging indicators (certainly for a set of 23-24 accounts), and most of the trade reckon (with a few exceptions) that they have worked their way through the stock mountain and factory production has adjusted to a new normal.

On the other hand, Ritchie Bros, reckon that there has been a 31% uptick in demand across Europe for secondhand ag machinery, see here for the full story. I daresay that currency has a big influence on whether kit is sucked out of the UK market, helping underwrite the secondhand deal, but demand there is.

This week, I spent a day with John Deere getting my head around an 830hp tracked prime mover and also seeing just how fast 2 x 45′ header combines could clear a field of wheat, admittedly with not a lot a straw or crop, but still, they covered some ground very rapidly.

Closer to home, there is high excitement with the current NW Auctions monthly online sale in full swing, if you want any gateposts, or flat eight grabs, now is your chance (or in my case, I’m selling a couple of work benches and a compressor, how many does one man need?). Also the Penrith quarterly live site auction is this coming Friday, it will be interesting to see what trade looks like.

July was an average month for rain, with 178mm in the gauge, versus 288mm in July 20 and 122mm in July 21. Believe it or not, 178mm is average for July in the hills.. Crazy.

Have a good week.

Andy

PS If you are curious, this article about using AI to manage road haulage makes for a good read.