After a slow month of sales for new tractors in January, the Irish tractor sales industry has recovered quite well, FTMTA figures show. The market is currently running at 1,697 units from January until the end of October. This figure is down by 17 units in comparison with the same period last year.

Looking at the sales trends for the past three years, November and December have traditionally had lower tractor sales. Over the past three years, November has averaged 45 units while December has averaged 21 units.

If this year’s figures remain on track with averages over recent years, it is expected that the Irish market will sell a total of 1,779 new tractors, 17 tractors fewer than last year.

Power band

Trends in the Irish market are continuing to shift towards the larger-horsepower tractors. A total of 89% of new tractors sold in Ireland this year are in excess of 100hp.

Figures show that only 2% of overall tractor sales were in the power band up to 70hp. One conclusion that could be made from these figures is that the 70hp tractor is no longer required on Irish farms.

The most popular power band nowadays is the 101hp to 120hp bracket, which accounted for just over 34.5% of tractor sales from January to October this year. Most of these will be versatile four-cylinder tractors.

A further 27% of tractor sales were in the 121hp to 150hp bracket. An additional 21% of sales were in the 151hp to 200hp power band. Almost 73% of tractors sold in Ireland nowadays are under 150hp.

FTMTA CEO Gary Ryan said: “Over the past 10 years we have seen the sales trend go from 100hp up to 120hp, and this is continuing to rise. In addition, we have seen tractor sales run a little lower than expected over the past few years. However, on the other hand we have seen a continued growth in the sales of new telehandlers, which are becoming more and more popular on Irish farms.”

Most popular month

The figures on tractor sales from 2015 to 2017 show that January was the most popular month to buy tractors, with an average of 359 units sold.

Interestingly, 2018 has proved different. In January this year a total of 238 units were sold. However, this figure was surpassed in July when a total of 251 new tractors were sold.

From February to May, just under 200 new tractors were sold each month. Sales in the month of June continued to fall, with the most likely explanation being the half-yearly registration system (181 and 182 for 2018) that was introduced in 2013.

Comparing and contrasting 2017 and 2018 sales figures, the counties that have experienced the largest jump in tractor sales include Wicklow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Longford and Sligo. At the other end of the spectrum, the counties that have witnessed the largest drop in sales are mostly western counties including Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Clare and Limerick.

Meanwhile, across the water, tractor sales in the UK are up by over 6%. Total sales of new tractors from January to October are standing at 10,542.