The latest tractor registration figures compiled by the FTMTA (Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association) show a continuing, steady improvement in the state of the new tractor market during the year.
The month of October saw 90 new tractors registered. This was a considerable increase on the 64 units in the same month of last year (2016).
Total registrations for the year to the end of October now stand at 1,714 new tractors. While this is 6% less than at the same point of last year, the year-on-year drop is now the smallest that it has been all year.
The association says that the ongoing recovery, as the year progresses, is especially notable when the current 6% drop is set against the 19% year-on-year decrease witnessed at the end of February.
The counties with the highest levels of new registrations, during the first ten months of the year, are Cork with 193 units and Tipperary with 147 units. Galway is tied with Wexford at 105 units each.
According to the FTMTA, a resurgent dairy sector appears to be the most likely factor in the improvement in the market as the year goes on. The association expects this positive impact to continue into next year.
Loaders and handlers
Registrations of telehandlers, wheeled loaders and backhoe loaders have all enjoyed a reasonably good year, says the FTMTA. That performance has apparently continued with a “strong October”.
280 new telehandlers were registered during the first ten months of this year, which is just 4% less than the same point in 2016. Registrations of wheeled loaders stand at 79 units – versus 72 in all of last year.
51 backhoe loaders have been registered so far this year – versus 40 in all of last year. This, says the FTMTA, is due to considerably increased levels of construction activity across the country.
While the construction sector is the primary driver of increased sales of telehandlers, wheeled loaders and backhoes, significant numbers of these machines (with the exception of new backhoes) are being bought by farmers and agricultural contractors.
