Small and Utility Tractor Sales Outpacing Larger Equipment
MILWAUKEE, WI – Overall unit sales of agricultural tractors and self-propelled combines in May 2020 rose in the U.S. according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Smaller machine sales growth overpowering declines in the bigger segments and combines. Total farm tractor sales rose 15.1 percent in May compared to 2019 while self-propelled combine sales fell 2.9 percent. Heavy-duty (100+ hp, articulated 4WD) tractors both declined in unit sales. Total year-to-date (YTD) sales for all farm tractor classes now show 4 percent positive growth for 2020, while combines remain down 9.5 percent in the same period. “The growth we’re seeing in the sub-100 horsepower segments appears to be an unusual side-effect of COVID-19-related quarantines, as large home property owners and hobby farmers are spending more time at home, and with their equipment, and desiring an upgrade,” said Curt Blades, senior vice president of Ag Services at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. “The larger machinery that remains in decline are row-crop tractors and harvesters that do the major work on commercial farming operations. This decline is clearly a reflection of the uncertainty in the overall ag economy at this time.”
(SOURCE: Association of Equipment Manufacturing)