Machinery supply chain woes linger

Equipment manufacturers are not through the woods when it comes to supply chain issues that have hampered their production for many months.

“We don’t see these challenges easing up until maybe mid 2023 or even later,” said Ben Smith, production and precision ag marketing operations manager at John Deere.

“We’re going to have to continue to kind of muscle our way through these challenges, and there’s really no silver bullet.”

Smith is the single point of contact between Deere’s equipment factories and its dealer network, so when there’s information or updates that need to go to Deere field managers and dealers, it’s his office that disseminates it.

He said Deere had to change how it sources parts and even produces equipment because of a fragmented global supply chain.

Deere faced a steep learning curve when the pandemic started to disrupt global supply chains.