Deere and Company is reporting a drop in earnings for the third quarter. The Moline, Illinois-based manufacturer of agriculture and construction equipment says third-quarter earnings fell 15 percent. Deere earned nearly $851 million, or $2.33 per share, in the quarter.

A year ago Deere posted earnings of more than $996 million, or $2.56 per share. An 8-percent drop in equipment sales in the U.S. and Canada is getting the blame. Deere also expects weak sales in the U.S., Canada and abroad will negatively affect earnings for the entire year. Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer is predicting $3.1 billion in profits in 2014, down slightly from earlier projections.

Ken Golden, Director of Global Public Relations, says worldwide sales from May through July dropped five percent. Sales fell eleven percent in Deere’s Agriculture and Turf Division. He says that means production schedules will change. “Production would be cut back in the 4th quarter to meet current market demand. That’s not anything new for us. We have said we’re committed to always cutting production to market levels,” Golden says.

He says other divisions are benefiting from growth in the U.S. economy. “We still expect sales of construction and forestry equipment to increase by ten percent for the full year. You know this is showing where the economy headed. The economy is recovering, and there’s higher housing starts in the. And we’re also seeing sales increases outside the U.S. and Canada for that division,” according to Golden.

 

(Reporting by Phil Roberts, Davenport)