Sales report: US retail, OPE and Tractor dealers
Following strong retail activity in March and April this year, OPE dealers in the U.S. experienced a slowdown in May, with overall revenue down 2 percent compared to the same period last year. Both March and April showed gains of 7 percent compared to the same months in 2023.
This data comes from Ideal, c-Systems and Charter, all Constellation Dealership Software companies. The organizations have developed the largest database of dealership transactional sales, inventory position and task completion information in the outdoor power equipment (OPE) market. The data is compiled from more than 1,500 dealers on a nightly basis.
A regional breakdown shows dealers in the Northeast scored the best revenue results in May, with a 5 percent year-over-year gain. Dealers in the West, meanwhile, felt the pain of a 6 percent relative drop compared to last year.
National Retail Sales
On June 18, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that U.S. retail and food services sales for May 2024 were up 0.1 percent from the previous month, and up 2.3 percent above May 2023. A group of economists polled earlier by Dow Jones estimated that retail sales would rise by 0.2 percent. Total sales for the March 2024 through May 2024 period were up 2.9 percent from the same period a year ago. These sales numbers are adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes.
The reporting also said that non-store retailers were up 6.8 percent from last year, while food services and drinking places were up 3.8 percent from May 2023.
Tractor Market Update
Like it does with OPE dealers, the Constellation groups track sales at tractor dealers nationwide. The latest report on monthly revenue and growth over the previous year tracked activity at 263 tractor dealers in North America. It showed the decline continues in 2024, with May revenue off 20 percent compared to the same month in 2023.
Tractor dealers in the West suffered the worst results, with revenue off 38 percent, while dealers in the Northeast saw a decline of 9 percent.
Reporting note
The report is based on a group of dealers who have reported their data over the previous three years. The dealer count, wholegood unit sale count, and total sales numbers above show the actual number of dealers and total sales being analyzed. The graph and analysis on the following pages are based on a smaller “same store” group of dealers who have submitted data each month for three years in a row.
The report is showing data from combined sales of parts in all departments, wholegood sales and service repairs. The report is showing a year over year average with a yellow line indicating the current year performance over the previous year.
