Cheffins, which conducts the largest monthly sale of tractors and agricultural machinery in the world, has announced sales of over £25 million-worth of machinery in Q1 2023, across both the firm’s Cambridge monthly sales and on-site auctions. This is over double the total sold in Q1 2022, which stood at £12.4 million across 14 sales.
At the Cambridge monthly machinery sale, the three auctions in January, February and March have grossed over £11.2 million, representing an uplift of 20.5 per cent against sales in Q1 2022, which achieved £9.29 million. Overseas purchases made up circa 35 per cent of buyers at each of the sales, with top countries for export including Ireland, Romania, Sudan, Lithuania and Poland.
There have been nine on site sales taking place across the UK in the first quarter of the year, incorporating both modern and vintage machinery. The highest grossing on site sale for the quarter was hosted on behalf of one of the UK’s largest agricultural machinery and ground care dealerships, Ripon Farm Services, which saw the most successful single vendor auction hosted by Cheffins to date.
The top selling items in the first three months of the year include a 2021 John Deere 9800i forage harvester which sold for £230,000; a 2017 Claas 980 Jaguar forage harvester, which achieved £125,000; a 2020 JCB 435S loading shovel, which sold for £125,000; a 2015 Case Quadtrac 580 tractor which made £119,000; a 2018 John Deere 8600 forage harvester which made £115,000 and a 2019 Fendt 724 Vario tractor which made £111,000.
Oliver Godfrey, Head of the Machinery Division at Cheffins says: “The combination of increasing costs for new machinery, coupled with long lead times, has ensured that both end-users and trade buyers have had to be prepared to pay higher prices for good quality second-hand machinery. Whilst we are still living in uncertain times with the combination of the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis, well-maintained agricultural and plant machinery is continuing to see growing prices which has pushed up the average lot price achieved at each of the Cheffins sales. As the pound remains weak against the Euro, the export market came back with a bang in the first quarter of this year, as overseas buyers become increasingly confident in the new rules and regulations for machinery export. Global supply chains are continuing to struggle to build new kit as quickly as is needed, and this has left farmers and contractors little choice but to turn to second hand opportunities. Similarly, on site sales in the past three months for farmers, contractors and machinery dealers have increased in regularity and we have seen multiple sales gross seven figure sums as we offer a hassle-free solution to dispose of surplus equipment.”
The next sale will be on the 15th May, at Cheffins Machinery Sale Ground, Sutton, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB6 2QT.
To view the calendar for the monthly, on site and vintage sales, please click here
For more information, please visit www.cheffins.co.uk, or call Cheffins auctioneers on 01353 777767.