It won’t surprise the ag community to learn that under 40HP tractors are still the driving force for tractor sales.  According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the sale of small tractors was up 9.4 percent in May, and up 15.5 percent from January.

Sales were up slightly for 2WD tractors 40-100HP, but 2WD tractors over 100HP declined.  Combines sales also declined in May, just a little over 40 percent.  Year-over-year combines sales January through May are down 28.8 percent.

“The May retail sales numbers, taken together, are higher than the 5-year average, mostly driven by the smaller under 40HP machines, which remain an area of growth compared to the negative numbers for production equipment. However, farm tractors 40-100HP continued their stable trend, and the 2WD tractors 100+HP experienced a lower decline than earlier this year,” said Charlie O’Brien, AEM senior vice president.

“Farm incomes are expected to be more stable this year and we are seeing some growth in crop receipts in certain areas of the country, but we will most likely have to wait until later this year or 2017 to see an appreciable impact on equipment sales.”