New tractor registrations for the month of May have shown continued growth for the first five months of the year, according to the most recent figures released from the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA).

The figures show that a total of 197 new tractors were registered in May, an increase of 52% on the 130 units registered in the same month last year.

A total of 1,449 new tractors have been registered so far this year to the end of May. This is up 26.55% from the 1,145 units registered this time a year ago.

However, it is worth noting that May 2020 registrations were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply chain issues.

All counties saw new tractors registered during May. The three counties with the highest numbers of registrations were Cork (23 units), Tipperary (17) and Clare (12).

Interestingly, Carlow had the lowest number for the month, with only two new tractors registered.

The 101hp to 140hp power band remains the range with the highest level of registrations, with 98 out of the 197 units falling within this range for May.

This equates to almost half of all new tractors registered for the first five months of 2021 at 49.34%.

During the first five months of the year, 9.1% of new tractors registered were between 50hp and 100hp, 33.3% were between 141hp and 200hp, while 8.3% of all tractors registered were of 200hp or more.

Northern Ireland

Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) data shows that, in total, 41 new tractors were registered in Northern Ireland in May this year.

This represents a 64% increase on the same period last year, which saw just 25 new units receive number plates.

This brings the total year-to-date figure to 299 units, up 71% on the 175 new registrations between January and the end of May last year.

UK

The AEA figures show that 1,103 new tractors have been registered in the UK for the month of May, 74.8% ahead of May 2020.

Therefore, total new UK tractor registrations for the first five months of the year are up 21.2% on the same period last year, coming in at 5,371 units.

This large increase is mainly due to COVID-19, but, having said that, numbers for the period are up 7% on the five-year average.