Flying Snow Keeps Snowblower Sales Soaring

dshell — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:26:14 +0000

A few years ago I remember speaking with a dealership manager near Spokane, Wash., with a showroom full of snowmobiles who said he was getting out of it: There’s just not that much opportunity any more for snow-related product sales, he said. I wonder what he’s thinking now, as folks in and around Spokane dig out from more than 6 ft. of the cold wet white stuff that’s been dumped on their community since mid-December.

Across the country, news reports are showing manufacturers and retailers of all types and sizes selling out of snow-removal machines. The latest report is from Toro, which is adding a couple more weeks of snowblower production to meet demand. According to one report, at Home Depot Inc., sales of the machines are up “high double digits” over last year. Officials with Lowes say this is the first time the company shipped truckloads of snowblowers to the state of Washington the same day it sent them to Michigan and Maine. We’ve also been reporting on Ariens Co. since GIE+EXPO, when President Dan Ariens noted in a press conference the issues with snowblower engine supplier Tecumseh. While Ariens had already increased production 25%, demand has skyrocketed 50%.

While snow machine sales have traditionally been heavier after Christmas, a strong snow year last year, and a series of storms that began in November and seemingly blanketed the upper half of the U.S. by mid December, has sent sales soaring. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than 2,000 daily snowfall records were broken in December.

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Flying Snow Keeps Snowblower Sales Soaring