After some boom years for machinery manufacturers, 2024 was summarised by most machinery companies as being a challenging one; with manufacturers across the world witnessing a sizeable drop in sales.
Last week, we looked at the most recent brand-by-brand tractor sales figures for the Irish market.
The four major players in the tractor industry – John Deere, CNH (Case IH and New Holland), AGCO (Massey Ferguson, Valtra and Fendt) and Claas – accounted for 88.31% of the Irish market. This week, we take a look at how these companies performed in 2024.
The big story here is that all major manufacturers have dropped sales numbers due to a reduced demand in 2024. Manufacturers have responded by reducing production – their focus in the short term is on clearing out large amounts of dealer stocks.
CNH agricultural sales down 22%
For 2024, CNH Industrial (New Holland, Case IH and Steyr) consolidated revenues were $19.84bn (€19.21bn), down 20% year-on-year, with net sales of Industrial Activities at $17.06bn (€16.52bn), down 23%. Honing in on CNH Agriculture, net sales of $14bn (€13.56bn) in 2024 were recorded, 22% lower than the US$18.1bn (€17.5bn)in 2023.
“As intended, agriculture dealer inventory went down in Q4 by over $700m (€677m) due to focused retail sales support and 34% fewer production hours. The challenging market conditions will continue at least through the first half of 2025, and we will keep production levels fairly low by design to drive channel inventory down further,” said Gerrit Marx, CNH CEO.
John Deere sales drop 16%
For the fiscal-year 2024, Deere & Company reported that its net income dropped by a sizeable 30% year on year, finishing at $7.1bn (€6.8bn), compared with $10.16bn (€9.84bn), in fiscal 2023.
Net sales were $44.7bn (€43.3bn) for the year, compared with $55.5bn (€53.7bn)in fiscal 2023, respectively.
“Amid significant market challenges this year, we proactively adjusted our business operations to better align with the current environment,” said John May, chairman and CEO of Deere & Company.
Looking to 2025 in each of the different sectors, Deere estimates its production and precision ag division will be down around 15%; its small ag and turf will be down around 10% and its construction and forestry will be down 10-15%. Net income attributable to Deere & Company for fiscal 2025 is forecasted to be in a range of $5bn to $5.5bn (€4.8-5.3bn).
AGCO sales drop 19.1%
AGCO, the parent company of Massey Ferguson, Fendt and Valtra, has reported net sales for 2024 of $11.7bn (€11.3bn), which is a decrease of 19.1% compared to 2023. Taking the Europe/Middle East region, net sales decreased by 10.9% in 2024. It said declines were largest in mid-range and high-horsepower tractors and hay equipment.
“We cut our production hours 33% in the fourth quarter and ended the year with lower company and dealer inventory compared to 2023. Demand for new equipment has softened further in most global markets, particularly as lower farm income persists for crop producers.
"We continue to expect increased adoption of precision technology, but challenging farm economics are resulting in weak global industry demand across most equipment categories,” said Eric Hansotia, AGCO’s chairman, president and CEO.
Claas sales drop 19%
Claas recorded net sales of €5bn for the 2024 financial year (ended 30 September), €1.1bn (19%) lower than in 2023. In what it describes as a year that tested the organisation, Claas stayed on course and made an operating profit of €584m (€769m in 2023) before depreciation. Net income was €253m (€347m in 2023).
“We have once again increased our R&D expenditure to over €330m and made targeted investments in future projects, new technologies and our production network. In this way, we ensure sustainable growth and drive innovation,” outlined CEO Jan-Hendrik Mohr.
Claas says that the outlook for 2025 is subdued and given the existing global risks, it expects a moderate decline in sales and a noticeable decline in income before taxes for the 2025 financial year.