The shortage of semiconductor chips has been making news in the automotive industry for months, but the impact is farther reaching. Matt Ramage, who represents Hutson, Inc., a John Deere dealership network, said Hutson and other dealers have been preparing.
“We were being told that some of our 2021-year model equipment would not be shipped with receivers, so it all started with GPS receivers. We thought, no problem - all of our customers have two or three extra GPS receivers - this is not going to be a big deal. But at the same time, we’ve got customers who we’re trying to convert from different brands, and we wanted to provide the same creature comforts all customers have," said Ramage.
The dealers went to their customers this spring and asked them to trade out their extra receivers, saying they would sell them new receivers before harvest in mid-July or early August. Ramage said, “We had a lot of customers say they would love to help, so we traded for a lot of receivers, but as time went on, it wasn’t just receivers that were in a shortage situation.”
Then Ramage learned that the tractor and combine units with extended monitors wouldn’t be shipped. “By the time we got to May, we were notified by the manufacturer that all of our orders for this type of technology - although they were sourced and showing a delivery date - would become unsourced because the supply chain would not provide them to us.” As a result, some Deere dealers, like Hutson, owe receivers to customers. There’s a whole team of people on social media and other online-selling platforms shopping for this technology.
According to Ramage, “We’ve been able to acquire 10 or 15 displays and 10 or 15 receivers, but as far as the scope of Hutson Inc. (30 stores across Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan), we are not even scratching the surface of what we’re going to need by next spring, much less by this harvest season. There will be some customers who will have to revert to the dark ages in terms of technology.”
Ramage added, “We will have customers who will have to operate combines without collecting yield data. They will not have the GPS technology to recognize where they are in the field and, therefore, any yield data that they collect is just a mass input type yield data. The combine will still tell you how much [it’s] seeing in yield, but without a geospatial reference, there won’t be a yield map.”
EDITOR’S TAKE:
This should come as no surprise, especially to those in the auto/truck world. In addition, we are now seeing supply chain disruptions in many other sectors and types of products that are in high demand. Sure COVID 19 had a major impact on many of these issues, but that is not the only cause of today’s shortages. In many instances the shortage of labor has led to a slowdown in manufacturing and distribution. When these issues will be resolved is difficult to say. It will take some time to play catch up.
In the meantime, we trust harvest will run smoothly and the shortages will not be too detrimental to farmers. We’ll pray for good weather and no breakdowns! When harvest is complete, remember to invite the farmers/ranchers into your dealership to discuss the harvest season and to interest them in a new truck. Then – top it off with AgPack!
