According to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Heavy duty row crop tractor unit sales continued to increase in the U.S., while overall farm tractor unit sales in the U.S. and Canada declined in August. Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to talk with the AEM Senior Vice President, Curt Blades, about the latest report.
In the U.S., 100+hp 2WD tractors, and 4WD tractors were the only segments to grow year-over-year. Both those segments, along with self-propelled combines remain positive for the year. The biggest overall growth among tractors happened in 4WD units, growing more than 20 percent in August.
“For the last 30 years or so, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers has been producing monthly sales reports where we track tractors and combine sales,” Blades said.
Overall unit sales of U.S. tractors are down 4.6 percent compared to sales in August 2022, while combine sales declined slightly by 2.4 percent.
The decline in sales of U.S. tractors, Blades said, is due to the demand being met after strong markets for the last three years. While combine sales were down slightly in August, Blades said those sales are still up 30 percent for the year.
“I think that might just be a tiny issue with combines because we are seeing what I consider to be a strong demand for combines overall,” Blades said.
The combination of 4WD tractors being up 21 percent year-over-year paired with the current row crop numbers, Blades said, shows that there is general optimism in the farm economy.
“Overall, it seems as if there is a whole lot of optimism out there for what this technology brings to the agriculture market…,” Blades said.
New technology brings a number of advantages to the table for producers, Blades said, including but not limited to increased yields, fuel savings, increased sustainability, and better efficiency of time.
“With all of these things combined, you have got some real benefits that farmers who adopt the technology can see in their faming operation almost immediately,” Blades said.
