Parts availability, the dominant complaint of the last four seasons, has largely healed. In a survey of 54 agricultural dealers across North America, 88% reported next-day fill on filters, belts, and common driveline components, roughly matching pre-2020 service levels.
Electronics are the stubborn exception. Display modules, terminal controllers, and the ISOBUS units that tie an implement to a tractor are quoted at four to nine weeks, and dealers say a tractor waiting on a screen is functionally as dead as one waiting on a transmission.
Workshops are hoarding again
Two-thirds of dealers said they now stock controllers speculatively for their highest-volume models, tying up working capital in parts that may be superseded by a software revision. Several described it as insurance against a harvest-season callout they cannot answer.
Manufacturers contacted for the survey pointed to remanufactured module programmes and over-the-air updates that reduce module swaps, though dealers were sceptical that either closes the gap before spring.