CAD$/US$ exchange rate impacts

[grahamu]

OK this will probably only be of interest to us here in Canada.

I have been looking for a small tractor and have pretty much come down in favor of a Kubota 7510 over its competition based on value. However, in the process, in using company web sites and this great site it struck me that there is now a definite mismatch between pricing in Canada and the US.

With the CAD$ strengthening a lot over the past number of months I would expect to see prices here in Canada adjusted at some point in time to reflect the current exchange rate and to bring them more in line with prices in the US.

In fact, if one supplier was to do this ahead of the others it could significantly shift the value propositon for their tractors.

Has anyone picked up any pricing changes yet? If not, does anyone know at what time(s) of year supplier set their prices?

Thanks,
Graham

 

[kozak]

grahamu,

Unfortunately, I have not seen any moves in price changes downward for either vehicles or tractors. Not sure if it is volatility of the Canadian dollar or just additional profit taking by Manufacturers. The Canadian dollar has come a long way from the days it was trading at below 70 cents to an American dollar. Even if our dollar was par with the Americans we have always paid a premium for appliances, electronics & entertainment systems along with vehicles & tractors as most of the Manufacturing is / was done in the States or off shore in Japan, Europe, etc. As I understand it (I am definitely not an authority on this subject), since the American market is so much bigger than ours, off shore Manufacturers just ship to the States & then it gets transported to Canada at an additional premium.

Good Luck,

Vic

 

[PILOON]

I also am in Canada and can agree that buying from USA is getting very attractive even with any taxes that apply.

Shipping, however can break the deal.

Some observations:
USPS on items below 60 lbs works good as Can Post charges a mere $5.00 'collection fee' VS others that slap on high brokers fees as well as charge 'cash disbursement fees'

On heavy items I discovered frt.quote.com to be interesting.
A conversation about a palletized bush hog ((4' x 4' pallet with 300#) had a rate to Montreal of $325. BUT if I was to pick up at a border terminal the rate was to be $125.00!.
The item in question sold on EBay for about $140.00.
That made for a cost of $265 usd and I would pay at border taxes on the purchase price of $140 (about $21.00)
$265 converts to ,say, $290 ish + $21.=$311 CDN + my 2 hr drive to the border point to pickup---getting interesting.

A guy with a good trailer and pickup could deffinately consider buying a US sold tractor or implements if he lived close enough to a border point.

The frt.quote folks said I'd merely add my phone# to the invoice and I'd be advised when the shipment was in and that generally I'd be allowed sufficient time to effect pickup without additional storage charges being incured.

Yes, some Canadian dealers better get with it as the USA option is looking much more viable.

 

[canoetrpr]

This is a painful topic for us Canuks!. I just purchased a L3400HST with a FEL and a bush hog, and paid a pretty penny in premium to what our cousins in the U.S. would have paid for the same machine.

I looked very seriously at purchasing from the U.S. but shipping gets expensive - although still well worthwhile. The logistics get to be a bit painful unless you are hauling the tractor with your own truck.

In the end I just bit the bullet and paid the extra few thousand dollars of premiium to buy from a local dealer. The dealer has been great and has been able to resolve the one warranty issue I have had quickly. So I bought piece of mind for a few grand .

The bigger the tractor and the closer the Canadian dollar gets to the US$, the better the deal.

Bear in mind though that most Kubota dealers in the U.S. will not sell you a new tractor that you plan on exporting to Canada.

Of course, not too many years ago, tractors and cars were cheap here in Canada compared to the U.S. I didn't see anyone in Canada complaining about that .

I don't think you can expect see any adjustment in price based on the recent exchange rate changes. What you can do is use it as a bargaining tool when you talk to local dealers to get the best deal possible.

 

[grahamu]

Interestingly enough, it was on a trip just across the border for a business meeting in WA this week that got me thinking the same way. Within 10 mins of crossing the border I had passed Kubota, John Deere and New Holland dealers!!! I am definitely going to look into their prices and the cost and ease/difficulty of bringing a machine up here.

I tried looking on the Kubota Canada web site for a contact email address to ask them about price reductions but couldn't find one at all.

Re the excellent points Kozak made, even allowing for higher Canadian to US differential pricing, the bottom line is that there has still been a 20-30% shift in the underlying value of the dollar that should be reflected in the bottom line price.

Somebody is benefiting and it doesn't seem to be the consumer at present!

Graham

 

[project_X]

I had this dilemma last year, even when you factored in the exchange rates and the duty (japanese tractors-6.1%) it was significantly cheaper. I ended up buying a used Yanmar in NY state and bringing it home to Canada. A Kubota B7510 with loader and MMM was about 25% cheaper, with the duty,taxes and exchange. A JD 2210 was an even bigger discrepancy, and the tractor is made in Japan. It is very easy to import a tractor, even easier if it is new from a dealer. I've bought most of my implements across the border as well.


Cheers,
Rob