Registrations of new tractors look set to come close to 2,000 units in Ireland, following the release of the November registrations by the FTMTA Statistics Service. The November new-tractor registration figures show that 1,923 new tractors have been registered this year, up 44 units, or 3%, for the year to date. The actual November month figures were poorer than those of November 2013, with just 39 new tractors registered compared with 60 for the same month last year.

There are 164 used tractors imported and first registered for the month of November, down from 301 in November 2013.

The recent release of the Teagasc outlook for 2015 will dampen tractor demand, according to many in the farm machinery industry.

The Central Statistics Office figures on tractors taxed or licensed for the first time show that 132 new tractors were taxed last month, and 163 used tractors.

These figures are significantly lower than last year’s first vehicle taxation figures, as large numbers of tractors were put on the system due to changes in the vehicle off road taxation legislation.