With 27 new wheel loaders registered in March, registrations were up 70% (19 machines) on the same month last year, according to the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA).

This brings the total wheel loader registrations for the first three months of 2021 to 62 units, up almost 38% compared with the 45 units registered in the first three months of 2020.

This follows a significant year-on-year decrease in January when registration figures were initially down over 36%.

Meanwhile, 68 new telehandlers were registered in March, meaning registrations were up 143% on the same month last year.

This brings total telehandler registrations for the first three months of 2021 to 183 units, down just over 3% on the corresponding figure of 189 units in 2020. This follows a challenging year in 2020, which saw an 18% reduction in registrations in comparison to 2019.

Backhoe loaders

Backhoe loader registrations witnessed a difficult year in 2020 with an annual decrease of over 50%.

January of this year saw an improvement, with nine machines registered, up from six a year earlier. This positive trend continued into February, with another nine machines registered in comparison to four units in 2020.

Three new machines were registered in March, down on the nine registered last year. The total of 21 new units in the first three months is up two units on the 19 units recorded for the same period last year.