The Dealers Get One Voice: NAEDA and AED Agree to Merge Into Associated Equipment Dealers

From January 2027, North America’s two main equipment dealer associations will operate as one, bringing construction, agriculture and outdoor power dealers under a single roof after years of consolidation

For most of the past century, North American equipment dealers have spoken through two different microphones. Construction and industrial distributors had Associated Equipment Distributors (AED). Farm, industrial and outdoor power dealers had the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) and the regional groups that came before it. On 24 September 2026, the two associations announced they will become one.

The merger takes effect in January 2027. The combined organisation will operate as Associated Equipment Dealers, keeping the AED acronym but changing one word, and will represent equipment dealers and distributors across the United States and Canada.

It is one of the biggest changes in North American dealer representation in years, and it lands at a moment when dealers face the same pressures whatever colour of iron they sell.

Why now

The line between a “construction dealer” and an “ag dealer” has been blurring for years. Many dealer groups now sell compact equipment, utility machines and outdoor power alongside tractors or excavators, and several of the largest carry both farm and construction lines. At the same time, the issues that keep dealer principals awake are shared ones: the technician shortage, trade policy between the US and Canada, dealer-manufacturer agreements, right to repair, succession and financing.

Running two associations, with two sets of dues, two policy teams and two conference calendars, has become harder to justify.

“This merger is about putting dealers first and positioning our industry for the future,” said Steve Hunt, Chairman of the NAEDA Board of Directors and President of H&R Agri-Power, Inc. “NAEDA and AED each bring strengths to the table. Together, we can preserve what our members value most while expanding what we can accomplish on their behalf. This is about becoming stronger, more effective and more valuable to the dealers we serve.”

The last step of a long consolidation

The announcement caps several years of mergers among dealer associations. In 2022, the Equipment Dealers Association joined three regional associations to form NAEDA. In 2023, AED merged with the Far West Equipment Dealers Association, and in 2024 it announced a merger with the Canadian Equipment Dealers Association. Also in 2024, NAEDA absorbed the Northeast Equipment Dealers Association.

Each of those deals reduced overlap within one side of the industry. This one crosses the divide between them.

Who is coming together

AED, founded in 1919 and headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, represents more than 7,800 dealer locations across North America and 1,000 companies worldwide. Its members sell, rent and support equipment for construction, agriculture, outdoor power, mining, forestry, power generation and industrial applications. AED is known for its public policy work in Washington, its research and its education programmes, including the AED Foundation’s work on technician training.

NAEDA, based in Kansas City, Missouri, represents dealers in the agriculture, industrial and outdoor power sectors. On its website it describes itself as representing more than 3,500 equipment dealers. Its strengths lie in dealer-manufacturer relations, dealer rights and business resources for dealerships.

What the combined AED will do

Advocacy and industry affairs will sit at the centre of the new organisation. With a larger membership base, Associated Equipment Dealers expects greater reach with policymakers, manufacturers and other stakeholders throughout North America.

It will also build on the services both groups provide today: education, workforce development, dealer-manufacturer relations, research, events and member services.

“This merger represents an important step toward creating a stronger, more unified voice for the equipment industry,” said Marshall Anderson, Chairman of the AED Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of RDO Equipment Co. “By bringing AED and NAEDA together, we can align our efforts, strengthen our advocacy and better serve equipment dealers across North America.”

Anderson framed the decision as a long-term one. “Our responsibility is to look beyond where our associations are today and consider what our members will need five, 10 and 20 years from now,” he said. “This merger gives us the opportunity to build that future together.”

Hunt summed it up in a sentence: “We are taking the best of NAEDA and the best of AED and creating a stronger future for equipment dealers across North America.”

What it means for dealers

In practical terms, dealers should gain one advocacy agenda instead of two, a single point of contact on policy in both the US and Canada, and a larger pool of training, research and benchmarking resources. For mixed-line dealers, the question of which association to join, or whether to pay for both, disappears.

For manufacturers, the merger creates a larger and more unified counterpart in discussions on dealer agreements, warranty and parts. That could make dealer-OEM relations one of the areas to watch in the new organisation’s first years.

What is still open

Several important details have not yet been announced: who will lead the combined organisation, how the board will be composed, where it will be headquartered, and how membership dues and existing programmes will be merged. Trade press reports indicate that the proposal includes equal representation of agricultural and construction dealers on the board, a point the official release does not address.

Leadership and staff from both associations will work together ahead of the January 2027 effective date to ensure continuity of member programmes and services. The first months of 2027 will show whether one voice for the dealer lot also means a louder one.

The Dealers Get One Voice: NAEDA and AED Agree to Merge Into Associated Equipment Dealers published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.