OTTAWA (Staff) – This was supposed to be the year that farm machinery sales bounced back because of stronger farm market prices and renewed confidence.
So far, it has not happened.
According to the October report of the Canadian Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute, it is partly because an investment tax credit available last year inflated sales at the end of 1993, making comparisons look worse.
Still, industry officials seem perplexed by the less-than-robust sales through the first nine months of the year. Sales of tractors are off 7.6 percent from last year while sales of self-propelled combines are 18 percent below last year’s level of 1,433.
“Even though commodity prices remain stable, interest rates (are) relatively low, along with prospects for a high quality crop in wheat and corn, marketers of farm equipment, chemicals and other inputs are finding that fewer sales are being generated than expected,” said the industry newsletter.
