Greg Peterson, better known as Machinery Pete, believes the farm equipment industry is fundamentally changing. Firstly, there are far fewer equipment dealers now. Small dealerships are rare while mega dealers with 20 or even 50+ locations are common. This fact changes the equipment cycle as mega dealers can be more proactive with market changes, which ultimately led to a 90.8% increase in equipment sold via auction in 2023 compared to 2022.

Speaking of auctions, Peterson cites explosive growth in online auctions since the start of the pandemic as another changemaker in the industry. Buyers can flock from anywhere to purchase equipment. Online sales yielded 337 tractor sales in 2014. In 2023, this number nearly doubled to 645. Lastly, Peterson says manufacturers have more pricing power which means they’re more capable of holding production to better match demand as they move more to the “you buy it, then we’ll build it” model.

Read more on changes in the farm equipment market here.