Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer is reporting its first quarter earnings this morning.
Quad Cities-based Deere and Company reports income for the quarter of $498 million. That compares to a loss of $535 million in the first-quarter of last year which Deere blames on tax reform legislation.
Net sales for the just-ended quarter reached nearly $7 billion, up 16-percent. Deere’s CEO says despite solid progress, the company was “hurt by higher costs for raw materials and logistics as well by customer concerns over tariffs and trade policies.”