Costs of ownership related to rising diesel prices tend not to be reflected in used channels, but Gallagher says it may lead to an uptick in rental pricing in coming months. “Fuel prices are typically cooked into the hourly rental rates, and for construction projects it is included in bids as part of the total cost.”

Original equipment manufacturers have been navigating some rough waters recently with shifting tariff requirements and other uncertain policies, but demand is making up for unexpected costs in some cases. Deere & Co. reported strong numbers for its construction and forestry division last month in its second-quarter earnings call, with a notable year-over-year rise in net sales of 29%.

“The fundamentals behind the construction industry remain favorable,” said Chris Seibert, Deere manager for investor communications on the May 21 call. “Healthy customer backlogs [are] supported by infrastructure and large project spending that is more than offsetting softness in residential construction.”

While the impact of tariffs has already been in OEM’s planning for 2026, the refund of tariffs following a February court decision invalidating some of the surcharges has been an unexpected tailwind for some manufacturers. Deere in particular is taking the refunds as a chance to make further adjustments in its supply chain, further onshoring operations to avoid future charges. The manufacturer still projects a $1.2-billion charge in 2026 related to tariffs.

“To help manage the impact of tariffs, we continue to have teams across the organization working diligently to quantify exposures and identify mitigation opportunities,” said Brent Norwood, Deere senior vice president and CFO. “Overall, we believe we are executing well against these opportunities and remain confident in our ability to manage through the current tariff environment effectively.” Norwood added that Deere manufactures 80% of its finished goods in the U.S., with 75% of components sourced domestically.

Tariff pressures on imported equipment eased slightly this month, as the White House announced tariffs on certain types of equipment imports would be lowered from 25% to 15%. Equipment covered includes certain kinds of forklifts as well as bulldozers, scrapers, graders and other earthmoving equipment. The new policy went into effect June 8.