Auction
Machinery Pete notes two record-breaking Massey Ferguson sales as well as one that came close to setting a new high mark in this week’s Pete’s Pick.
Semi demand continues to hold strong, particularly for low-mileage, earlier emission-tier models. For example, at a retirement auction in Missouri a year ago, a 2017 Peterbilt 389 Glider day cab semi with 34,493 miles sold for $350,000.
Fleet industry veteran Todd Welle joins the Top Producer podcast to share some smart purchases he’s seeing farmers make.
Timing is everything, according to the equipment pricing trends Machinery Pete is watching.
Machinery Pete also shared the results of a special Allis-Chalmers auctioned off for charity on Nov. 9.
Digging into his data, the average auction prices for Case IH Magnum 290 and John Deere 8285R tractors are both down 34% this year versus last year.
When ag equipment manufacturers start shedding union line workers, shuttering plants and shifting factories to Mexico, and there’s a glut of used equipment covering dealer lots, you know the tide is quickly turning.
Despite concerns over rising costs and current economic challenges in agriculture, the market for used equipment remains strong, particularly for older, simpler models.
Machinery Pete says going the online auction route has tangible implications if you’re looking to sell a piece of equipment (or five) to manage cash flow.
From Jan. 1 to Aug. 4, Machinery Pete has seen 66 new to 3-year-old planters sell at auction. Twenty sold during that same time frame a year ago, 10 in 2022, 14 in 2021 and a mere six in 2019.
Highlights included a restored 1971 International Harvester 1456 and many late model tractor and combine deals.
Nine months ago, high-horsepower tractors were selling for record-high auction prices. Those same models are now bringing more than $100,000 less. As prices trend down, the opposite is happening with inventory on lots.
Machinery Pete continues to see higher than average farm equipment resale prices, and he has an idea why that is.
An International Harvester 856 diesel tractor, a Peterbilt 389 Glider kit day cab semi and a collection of John Deere 55 series tractors are just a few pieces of equipment that have caught Machinery Pete’s eye lately.
For example, at Lawrence Crom’s retirement auction, his like-new 2021 Case IH Maxxum 150 tractor sold for $133,000, plus a $1,250 online buyer fee. That’s a new record-high auction price on that model.
This 40-plus-year-old tractor still has some life left in it. At a farm retirement auction, it topped $20,000.
Times are different, which means trying to predict how used farm equipment values will behave coming out of a strong up cycle into a slower, tighter period in the ag economy is dangerous.
As usual, there was a ton of fireworks in the auction market at the end of 2023. One sale on Dec. 29 by Swenson & Sons in Minot, N.D., featured several incredible tractors in good condition.
Timing is everything. Machinery Pete’s recommendation for when to host an equipment auction is quickly approaching.
As it stands right now, it looks like 2022 will be the high-water mark for used construction equipment values.
The rebuilt/retrofit factor in the used planter market has been huge the past 18 to 24 months.
So far here in 2018 John Deere 4430 tractor values are Up 9.3%. Here’s a look at the Avg. Auction Price on 4430’s going back over the past 8 years.
The cabs of combines and tractors during the fall and spring are usually covered with dirt, grease, mysterious substances, and various remnants of fast food debris.
At an auction in northwest Nebraska, Machinery Pete found some interesting prices on some machinery from the 1970s. Among his finds? A 1978 John Deere 4840 powershift.
Machinery Pete is constantly keeping his eye on what’s happening in the machinery market. Recently, skid steers have been catching his eye.
One of the most popular and best-known tractors John Deere has manufactured is its 4440.
In early 2015, the trend of leasing tractors took off. Machinery Pete called it “the year of the lease.”
On Friday, an auction in Iowa created a lot of interest, mostly due to a particularly rare International 7588.
Any debate about heat in the tractor collector market has been dispelled in the last few weeks. According to Machinery Pete, muscle tractors from the early 1970s have been the sweet spot.