A total of 54 new tractors were registered in June, down 40% on the 90 units registered in the same month last year, according to new figures from the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA).

The figures show that a total of 1,368 new tractors have been registered in the first half of this year, down 11% from the 1,539 new tractors registered last year. However, the figure is still above the 1,208 units registered in 2020.

According to the FTMTA, there remains a strong demand for new tractors on the Irish market and the slightly lower figure than last year demonstrates the continuing impact of disruptions to global supply chains.

The three counties with the highest levels of registrations over the first six months were Cork (197 units), Tipperary (110 units) and Wexford (88 units). Leitrim was the county with the lowest level of registrations, with seven units recorded up to the end of June.

The 101hp to 140hp range is the horsepower band with the highest level of registrations with 601 units, accounting for almost 44% of all registrations this year. During the period in question, only 10.74% of all tractors registered were of 100hp or less, 35.89% were between 141hp and 200hp, while just 9.43% were over 200hp.

Northern Ireland

Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) figures show that there were 34 new tractors registered in Northern Ireland in June, down on the 61 units registered in the same month last year.

This brings the total year-to-date figure to 330 units, down 8% (30 units) on the 360 units registered for the same period in 2021. This year, Northern Ireland has accounted for 5.1% of all new tractor registrations in the UK, down from 5.3% last year.

UK

Figures from the AEA show 938 new machines were registered in the UK in June, 36% lower than in the same month last year. The AEA explained that June 2021’s figure was unusually high but this year’s total is towards the bottom end of the range seen for the same month in recent years. The total number of machines registered during the first half of the year in the UK has now reached 6,420 units, a 6% reduction than the same period in 2021.

Registrations for the year to date are still 6% above the five-year average. The association noted that the continuing impact of disruptions to global supply chains is still apparent in the number of agricultural tractors being registered in the UK.