Tractor lots are full

[Snobdds]

Capital One has told all dealerships; car, boat, tractor, etc that they are exiting the floorplan business. Think about that, Capital One, a company that has huge interest rate margin is getting burned so bad they have to exit.

Someone else will fill the space, but it will cost a lot more to secure floorplan financing. That will trickle down to higher costs on the physical asset.

The fed told everyone in 2021 to buy long duration treasury notes because inflation was "transitory" and everyone listened. Well we know how transitory it was and all these companies are holding long duration bonds that are about worthless with higher interest rates. The preservation of capital is now well underway for business...the problem is dealerships ordered huge inventory for anticipated demand that is failing to materialize.

It's going to get spicy in the next few months. The fall is typically when seasonal demand dries up and the recessions start.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Maybe the lots are full because the prices for JD and Kubota are through the roof?

My LS dealer in southern Texas is still selling tractors as fast as they come in.... essentially sold before they even get to him. Both of his locations are like that. He sells at a fair price, and supports with a great parts dept and service. Maybe that's why?
Been in business for 20 years, family run. Personal, one on one type dealership. You actually feel part of the family there.

I'm sure this all varies in different parts of the country.

 

[fishbones]

Michigan Kioti lots are empty.

 

[Thomas]

Our locale dealers just about full but attachments are slow coming in.

 

[Torvy]

Capital One has told all dealerships; car, boat, tractor, etc that they are exiting the floorplan business. Think about that, Capital One, a company that has huge interest rate margin is getting burned so bad they have to exit.

CapOne has never been a big player in the floor plan business. I worked for them for 13 years. 8 of it in Auto. They inherited some when they bought Hibernia Bank. They did a little bit beyond that, but as a very conservative bank, they have no problem exiting a business in which they are not competitive.

 

[Hay Dude]

Anyone else notice how tractor dealers lots are now loaded, I drive by 2 JD dealers 2 bobcat dealers and one Kubota dealer all the time and They are full , in fact the kubota and one JD dealer has at least 40 tractors WEonder if they are still selling.

I just spoke with my salesman at Messicks. He said compact sales are good, but hay equipment is NOT moving.

I heard sales in general suck right now as funds are drying up, interest rates are extremely high and inflation is at record levels not seen in over 40 years.

Throw in high fuel and food prices and I bet this year goes down as a terrible year for AG sales. Maybe all sales?

 

[5030]

Interesting. My Kubota dealer just sold 3 round balers (BV's) 2 disc bines and 3 rotary rakes last week alone. Kubota is still offering 0 percent financing btw.

 

[2manyrocks]

Ethanol free gas was $5.49/gallon here today just to run the lawn mower.

I'm seeing some Nashvile real estate listings where they are asking $400k for 1200 SF 1 bath 1 BR houses sorely in need of roofs and interior repairs. About a year ago, they would have put funds into them to remodel them to jack the prices even further. The fact they are trying to cash out without further investment to boost their sales prices tells me they think the market is soft or going to get worse.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

If you've waited this long to file, it's a good bet you're not getting a refund.

This is why I just filed

 

[Yander]

I think we've seen empty lots so long that we think full lots is new. I remember tractor dealers having full lots most of the time.

Here I don't notice any excessive amount of tractors than I would have seen four years ago.

The prices are definitely higher which makes one wonder if they're going to sell.

Having said that, there is money in central Ohio. Maybe sales are still strong here.