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The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has released its U.S. Ag Tractor and Combine Report for September 2024.
This data provides an in-depth view of current trends in the agricultural equipment industry, focusing on two-wheel-drive (2WD) farm tractors, four-wheel-drive (4WD) farm tractors, and self-propelled combines.
Decline in 2WD Farm Tractor Sales 📉
September 2024 saw a notable decline in 2WD farm tractor sales across all categories. Tractors with less than 40 horsepower (HP) experienced a 21% decrease, with 10,022 units sold, compared to 12,689 units in September 2023. Year-to-date (YTD) figures show a drop of 15.5%, with 106,120 units sold compared to 125,653 last year.
Mid-range tractors, those between 40 and 100 HP, also saw an 11.5% decline in sales for September, with 4,615 units sold compared to 5,214 units in 2023.
The YTD numbers reflect a 9.5% decrease, with total sales of 40,840 units in 2024.
Larger tractors with 100+ HP were particularly affected, showing a 26.4% drop in September sales, with only 1,877 units sold compared to 2,551 in September 2023. The YTD sales were 10.6% lower than last year, with 17,413 units sold compared to 19,468.
In total, 2WD farm tractors saw an overall 19.3% decline in September sales, dropping from 20,454 units in 2023 to 16,514 in 2024. Year-to-date sales for this category are down 13.6%, with 164,373 units sold this year.
Mixed Performance for 4WD Farm Tractors 🚜
Sales of 4WD farm tractors showed a smaller decline of 15% in September, with 447 units sold compared to 526 in 2023. However, year-to-date sales are up by 1.7%, with 3,112 units sold in 2024, compared to 3,060 in 2023.
Overall Farm Tractor Sales
The total farm tractor market, combining both 2WD and 4WD categories, saw a 19.2% decline in September, with total sales of 16,961 units compared to 20,980 in 2023. Year-to-date sales are also down by 13.4%, with 167,485 tractors sold in 2024 compared to 193,312 in 2023.
Significant Drop in Combine Sales 🌾
One of the sharpest declines observed in the report was in self-propelled combine sales. September 2024 recorded a 40.7% drop, with only 530 units sold compared to 894 in 2023. Year-to-date figures show a 21.5% decrease, with total sales of 4,462 units compared to 5,686 last year.
Inventory Levels
As of September 2024, the beginning inventory for 2WD farm tractors stood at 126,626 units, while 4WD tractors had a starting inventory of 1,019 units. The inventory for self-propelled combines was 1,765 units at the beginning of September.