Dealers appear to be feeling good about their prospects these days, according to the most recent Dealer Sentiments & Business Conditions Outlook Update survey.

The Ag Equipment Intelligence Dealer Optimism Index, a measure of sentiment among dealers compared to the prior month, increased in January, with 19% of dealers reporting they have a more optimistic outlook now vs. a net 10% last month (34% are more optimistic; 51% same; 15% are less optimistic).

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John Deere, Kubota and Shortline dealers are the most optimistic while New Holland and “Other” dealers hold the weakest outlooks. The 2013 outlook is up 2% sequentially from the prior month, when dealers expected 2% growth for 2013.

The survey, which is conducted monthly by Ag Equipment Intelligence and Cleveland Research Co., also revealed that farm equipment dealers reported year-over-year sales grew 5% on average in January, down from 9% the prior month. Case IH saw the highest growth at 7%, while AGCO was the weakest and saw sales down 2%.

— Dealer Sentiment & Business Conditions Outlook survey, February 2013

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