The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association has outlined some of the top industry trends for the year with the hopes of making producer and business decisions easier.
The top trend is within the economy. The group expects a soft landing rather than a recession with real U.S. GDP growth of 1.7 percent forecasted. The Association also sees real equipment and software investment growth reaching more than 2 percent, and easing inflation has led the Federal Reserve to plan for incremental rate cuts. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers Senior Vice President says farm equipment sales this year will be a mixed bag.
“We saw some real strength in the traditional ag markets, whether that’s self-propelled combines, articulated four-wheel-drive tractors and those tractors over 100 horsepower all saw decent growth throughout the entire year, but we did see softness in those smaller horsepower tractors, under 40 horsepower tractors and 40 to 100 horsepower tractors were actually pretty soft for the entire year, and that indicates more of a consumer mindset than the traditional ag mindset,” said Curt Blades.
Nevertheless, Blades says he is confident in the strength of the equipment market and its long-term growth.
