MARKET DATA
Warm Weather Whacks Sales ?
In November , I decided I needed a snowblower , so I visited a couple local dealers before narrowing my options to two models . I told Alex , the owner of LTG Power Equipment , I would call him in a week or two . Then it hit 50 degrees . In Minneapolis . In December .
In February , we received a few inches of snow . I shoveled that little bit and never did buy a snowblower . I visited LTG recently to pick up a new saw chain . The parts salesperson told me they did sell a few snowblowers pre-season , but not many . They were , however , moving lots of chain saws and parts ; Minnesota ’ s lack of winter created an abnormal level of tree care work . Minnesota is not the whole nation , but the winter of 2023-2024 was unusual , weatherwise .
Temperature
The average temperature across the contiguous U . S . during January was 31.8 ° F , which is 1.6 ° F above average .
Regions with above-average temperatures included the Carolina Coast , Northeast , parts of the West Coast , central Rockies , Upper Midwest , and Great Lakes .
Minnesota , Wisconsin and much of the upper Midwest experienced record-setting warm winter weather .
Precipitation
In January 2024 , the contiguous U . S . experienced above-average precipitation , making it the 10th-wettest January in the historical record . The total precipitation for the month was 3.18 inches , which is 0.87 inch above average .
Most areas in Minnesota received less than 50 % of their normal snowfall through the middle of February and had observed 30-60 days since December 1 with no snow on the ground .
Much of the eastern U . S . and parts of the West received more rainfall than usual . Massachusetts and Connecticut ranked third wettest among the states .
With this in mind , we asked OPE dealers and landscape professionals , “ How has this winter ’ s weather impacted your sales ?”
Dealer sales
Overall sales and revenue ( units sold ) Negative .............................................................................................................. 65.4 % No change .......................................................................................................... 19.2 % Positive ................................................................................................................ 15.4 %
Inventory of products Negative .............................................................................................................. 43.1 % No change .......................................................................................................... 45.1 % Positive ................................................................................................................ 11.8 %
The foot traffic of patrons Negative .............................................................................................................. 60.8 % No change .......................................................................................................... 25.5 % Positive ................................................................................................................ 13.7 %
10 OPE + March 2024 www . OPE-Plus . com