There is one fewer big dealer on Ag Equipment Intelligence’s Big Dealer list than there was a year ago at this time. A year ago, we showed 188 dealership groups vs. 187 this year. Is the consolidation of North American farm equipment dealers finally slowing?

We see no real slowdown overall in the near term, which means big dealers will continue to increase as smaller dealers continue to decrease. But on average, the number of stores each of the big dealers operate as changed very little.

Since 2011, when Ag Equipment Intelligence teamed up with George Russell to publish its first Big Dealer report, dealership groups with 10 or more store locations have grown by 102%, from 43 groups then to 87 this past year.

The most significant expansion among these dealers in the past 9 years has been those with 15-19 store, which have increased their numbers by 420%, from 5 groups in 2011 to 26 in 2019. At the same time, dealers with the 20 or more locations have multiplied from 8 groups 9 years ago to 19 today, or by about 138%.

So, why has the total list remained relatively unchanged since 2012 when there 187 groups with 5 or more stores? That’s because those with 5-9 locations have shrunk from 128 in 2011 to 100 in 2019, down by 22%.

Despite all of the apparent activity we’ve seen in the last decade, overall, the Ag Equipment Intelligence Big Dealer list has increased by only 9% since it was first published in 2011. Keep in mind that only dealership groups with 5 or more stores are included.

The most significant change can be seen in the total number of ag equipment locations that dealers with 15 or more stores operate today, while the overall average has declined.

In 2011, there were only 13 dealer groups with 15 or more locations and they owned 311 farm equipment retail operations, or about 24 stores per group. In 2019, 45 groups with 15 or more locations operate more than 1,000 ag stores (1,315 total stores including construction and other equipment outlets). Today, these 45 large dealer operations average nearly 23 ag locations each.

While the number of big dealership groups continue to increase and total locations they operate has expanded, the average number of stores per dealer has seen very little movement, up or down.

If you are interested in keeping up to date with dealership consolidation as dealership mergers & acquisitions, AEI subscribers and registered users of www.AgEquipmentIntelligence.com will now have access to these changes as they occur. Go to www.AgEquipmentIntelligence.com/dealer-m-&-a.