New tractor registrations up 16% on 2020

New tractor registrations in March have shown a continuation to the strong start to the year, according to new figures from the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA).

The figures show that 239 new tractors were registered in March.

Although only one unit above the same month last year, new tractors registrations for the year to date are up 16% on the same period last year. This means that a total of 1,036 new tractors have been registered in the first three months of this year, up from the 896 units a year previous.

The three counties with the highest levels of registrations over the first three months were Cork (144 units), Tipperary (90 units) and Wexford (71 units). Leitrim was the county with the lowest level of registrations, with eight units up to the end of March.

The 101hp to 140hp range is the horsepower band with the highest level of registrations with 530 units, accounting for 51.15% of all registrations in the first three months.

During the period in question, only 8.8% of all tractors registered were of 100hp or less, 31.75% were between 140hp and 200hp, while just 8.3% were over 200hp.

Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) figures show that there were 97 new tractors registered in Northern Ireland in March, up over double on the 47 units registered in the same month last year.

UK

Figures from the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) show that UK registrations of agricultural tractors have had a year-on-year rise of 12.7%. The association has said that the upturn in tractor registrations seen in recent months has continued into March, normally the peak month for registrations each year.

The monthly total of 2,085 machines was 15% higher than in March 2020.

It was also the highest monthly total for any month since March 2012 (and the first time over 2,000 machines have been registered in a single month in that time). That brings the total new tractor registrations for the year to date in the UK to 3,259 registrations.