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Almost $40 billion of tractors and related equipment are purchased in the United States on an annual basis. While overall sales have decreased during some years in the previous decade, 2018 and 2019 proved to be far better than many in the tractor industry had anticipated. A January 2020 report published by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (a U.S.-headquartered group representing off-road equipment manufacturers in the United States and Canada) indicated that some 244,637 tractors were sold in the U.S. in 2019, a figure that marks a 3.6% increase over 2018 aggregate figures. It also marks a significant increase over 2017 figures.
The primary industries of relevance to tractors and to the ExtendaLoader are Agriculture, first and foremost, followed by construction. Mr. Williams himself estimates that, while 85% of demand for his ExtendaLoader is likely to emanate from participants in the agriculture industry, the remaining 15% will be drawn from construction, the other industry that relies not only upon tractors but, more specifically, front-end loaders. |
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AGRICULTURE
Since everyone still needs to eat, agriculture is actually less susceptible to the collateral damage wrought by Covid-19 than many other industries in the United States. Agriculture is actually holding up reasonably well thus far in the midst of the current health crisis, despite a significant drop in crop and livestock prices instigated by the pandemic. For example, the latest 2020 agricultural forecast published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, published on May 29th, 2020, revised the total U.S. agricultural export projections downward by $3 billion due largely to Covid-19-related concerns. That might seem like a drastic downward revision until one realizes that the current forecast stands at $136.5 billion. The previous, pre-crisis-level (at least in the U.S.) forecast, published in late February, stood at $133 Billion. That amount to a 2.2% decrease in total U.S. exports for the year is not insignificant, not necessarily ruinous for the average American farmer. |
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CONSTRUCTION
Although it is considerably less important to the tractor industry than the U.S. agriculture industry highlighted above, the domestic construction industry also has some bearing on tractor sales. According to statistics published by the Associated General Contractors of America, a construction industry trade group, the domestic construction industry generates annual revenues in excess of $1.3 trillion. On a year to year basis, once the Coronavirus subsides, the U.S. construction industry is likely to resume annual growth of 4.9%. By 2023 (or, due to the effects of the pandemic, 2024), the industry is slated to exceed $1.8 trillion in annual economic activity.
Although it is considerably less important to the tractor industry than the U.S. agriculture industry highlighted above, the domestic construction industry also has some bearing on tractor sales. According to statistics published by the Associated General Contractors of America, a construction industry trade group, the domestic construction industry generates annual revenues in excess of $1.3 trillion. On a year to year basis, once the Coronavirus subsides, the U.S. construction industry is likely to resume annual growth of 4.9%. By 2023 (or, due to the effects of the pandemic, 2024), the industry is slated to exceed $1.8 trillion in annual economic activity.