Rising equipment costs, inflation and interest rates topped the list of heavy equipment dealers’ top concerns this year, according to a new survey from EquipmentWatch.
The 2026 Dealer Insights Report found dealers are facing pressure on multiple fronts, including buyer hesitation, declining lead quality, tariff uncertainty and disconnected technology. The survey was conducted with 398 verified North American dealerships in April.
Rising equipment costs were the biggest economic disruptor for dealers, cited by 70% of respondents. That beat both inflation affecting operational costs (48%) and interest rates/financing challenges (47%).
As a result, overall dealer sentiment remains mixed. A slight majority of dealers (52%) describe their 2026 equipment market outlook as either “cautiously optimistic” or “confident,” while 39% remain “concerned” or “very concerned.”
For customers, 64% of surveyed dealers believed buyers will delay purchases and hold onto equipment longer in 2026, though that was down from 76% who said the same in last year’s dealer survey.
The most common barrier to profitability among surveyed dealers was the rising cost of equipment at 27%, followed by high operational expenses at 21% and low customer demand at 15%.
Hiring and retaining skilled employees was the top day-to-day challenge among surveyed dealers at 45%. Other top responses included attracting and retaining customers at 35% and managing inventory effectively at 33%.
Other highlights of the 2026 dealer report included:
- 32% said more leads from high-intent buyers would make their job easier
- 41% said customers are delaying purchases due to high costs
- 37% said too much aged or slow-moving equipment was the biggest challenge with their current inventory mix
- 53% said they rely on industry guides when pricing used equipment
To download the full report for free, click here.
EquipmentWatch is owned by Fusable (formerly Randall Reilly), parent of Equipment World. For more than 60 years, it has served contractors, equipment manufacturers, dealers, rental companies, lenders, insurers and government agencies in heavy civil construction. EquipmentWatch owns The Rental Rate Blue Book.
