Ag Industry, TMA

Port delays heighten February tractor sales drop

Tractor sales took another hit in February, the Tractor and Machinery Association says, and several factors have contributed

February tractor sales saw another sizeable fall, down 29 per cent on the same month last year and now down 27 per cent for the year to date.

All states and territories, except for the Northern Territory, experienced a decline in sales for the second consecutive month.


Baler sales were steady in February, defying the drop in tractor sales

Sales in Queensland were down 21 per cent, New South Wales was down 38 per cent and Victoria recorded a drop of 27 per cent.

Sales in Western Australia were down 18 per cent, South Australia recorded a 36 per cent decline and Tasmania was off 27 per cent for the month, with sales in the Northern Territory finishing 43 per cent ahead.

Not surprisingly, all machine categories were down this month – with the small under 40hp (30kw) category experiencing the smallest fall, down 5 per cent.

The 40-100hp (30-75kw) range was down 31 per cent in February and the 100-200hp (75-150 kw) category was also down, this time by 27 per cent.

Sales in the large 200hp plus (150kw plus) range took a massive hit to be 60 per cent lower than last February.  

Combine harvester sales remained healthy in February, supplying the back end of this year’s harvest, with a further 20 units being delivered in the month.

Baler sales were in line with last year, while sales of out-front mowers continued their downward trend and were off by 3 per cent this month.

There would appear to be three main reasons for this drop off.

The first is stock availability, with machine supply from USA very slow at present.

Lead times are often stretching beyond 12 months with the situation out of Europe only slightly better.

Secondly, interest rate increases are having an effect, particularly on the smaller and mid-size tractor product ranges.

There are also delays in processing roll on, roll off product at Australian ports.

New vehicle offshore pre-loading biosecurity requirements introduced by the Federal Government’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources require all new and used vehicles imported to Australia to meet strict new biosecurity requirements before being allowed entry into the country.

These requirements include inspections, treatment if necessary, and documentation to verify compliance.

A senior industry figure contacted by the TMA has confirmed these additional regulations are creating significant bottlenecks at the wharves, with long waiting times for shipping vessels to be processed.

Under the new regulations, if any foreign material is found on any item of imported machinery, the whole shipment is put on hold for de-seeding and further cleaning.

This slow and manual process can only take place at approved facilities which is causing enormous inefficiencies for the system, leading to huge volumes of vehicles being left in quarantine awaiting processing.

The delays are also causing significant challenges for shipping companies, with many vessels being forced to divert to other ports in the region.

To address these challenges, the government has announced a range of measures aimed at improving the efficiency of the shipping industry.

These measures include increased investment in biosecurity infrastructure and additional resources to support the processing of incoming vessels.

Despite these efforts, industry experts warn the processing delays are likely to continue for some time, with the complex nature of biosecurity requirements meaning it is unlikely these issues will be resolved any time soon.

Particularly affected will be farmers looking to sow winter crops and harvest crops such as grapes, as the unprecedented backlog in vehicle processing leaves their incoming machinery stuck in ports around the country.

Just a reminder, the annual TMA conference is being held this year on Wednesday July 19 at the Stamford Plaza, Sydney Airport.

Ticketing and event information will be available on the TMA’s website in the coming weeks as we look forward to another great event.

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