Now it’s castings, but it has also been computer chips, tires, electrical harnesses and even seat textiles.
Speaking at the National Farm Machinery Show they said things are getting better and by the end of the year they expect to be back to normal in delivering new machinery to dealers.
“The supply chain challenges that we experienced in 2021 and 2022 are with us for a little bit longer,” said Curt Blades, senior vice president of agriculture services for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).
“Absolutely, it's been an issue. Supply chains have been highly disruptive in the last 12, 18 to 24 months,” said Jahmy Hindman, Deere and Company chief technology officer.
Hindman said suppliers are telling them the situation looks to improve the second half of the year.
“It's progressively getting better,” Hindman adds. “Our third quarter and fourth quarter of last year showed us the improvement in our ability to deliver the products that are being ordered to the marketplace. I expect that to continue in the first quarter of this fiscal year for us.”
AEM also sees improvement coming later this year, which means farmers could still face months of supply chain constraints.
“Maybe by the end of the year, we'll begin to see some return to normalcy, whatever normalcy looks like,” said Blades.
Today, equipment manufacturers across the world are grappling with the same problem. The supply chain issues are not only ongoing, but hard to predict.
“We had this level of challenge, maybe now it's a little bit less, but we're not out of the woods,” said Kurt Coffey, head of Case IH for North America. “It could be tracks one day, it could be tires the next day. We have a lot of very unique, high-value, custom castings, a heat-treated custom casting, that you can't just go get, and it's a very unique supplier.”
No matter the type of equipment, manufacturers are saying castings are a major hurdle right now.
“It's a little bit of a whack-a-mole strategy when it comes to the supply chain,” said James Shurts, president of the ag division for Great Plains. “It's always something new, and it just happens to be that castings are our current issue and the current challenges. But it's always something different.”
AEM recently conducted a survey of its members, showing:
The most sought-after component are tracks (and their included components):
- Only 27 per cent of optimal inventory is available.
- In both agriculture and construction sectors, semiconductors and chips are in short supply.
- 44 per cent optimal inventory is available across both sectors.
“The other things that are interesting are like wiring harnesses, which oftentimes are made in the Ukraine, or seat cushions, which are made in Texas in areas that were destroyed by floods. It's not one thing, it's a collection of things,” said Blades.
