Big equipment lead machinery sales in April

Sales for 4WD tractors, 2WD 100+ hp tractors, and combines in the U.S. in April 2024 saw gains over last year, while low-horsepower segments were down, according to sales numbers from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

“The modest growth in agriculture 4WD tractor sales in April 2024 is an indicator of resilience in the overall ag industry,” says Curt Blades, senior vice president at AEM. “The smaller horsepower market continues to be a challenge, but we remain optimistic for the long-term strength of the ag equipment market.” 

Andy Campbell, director of insights at Tractor Zoom, says April sales were a lesson in a balanced value chain. Compact and subcompact tractors continue to see a decline year-over-year, part of a major correction from previous overproduction levels that took place late in the pandemic. 

“The most significant move from the April numbers is 4WD tractor sales with a remarkable increase of 24% year-over-year,” Campbell says. “One data point doesn’t make a trend, but it is good supporting evidence that the farm economy — while not booming — is also not crashing. 4WD tractors also were the hardest to over-produce in the last couple of years, so they don’t have the magnitude of supply issues that other categories are facing right now.”

Tractor sales

Total farm tractor sales for April 2024 were 25,205, down 3.5% from last year with 26,106 sold April 2023. Year to date, AEM reports 67,957 total farm tractors were sold as of April this year, down 10% from 75,519 this time last year. Total farm tractor inventory began at 144,758 in April.

Tractor sales are broken down by horsepower range as follows:

Sales for 2WD sub-40 hp tractors in April 2024 were down 5.4% from 2023, with 17,084 sales this year, and 18,068 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 43,187 tractors have been sold in this category, down 12.9% from 49,557 at the same time last year. 2WD sub-40 hp tractor inventory began at 93,394 in April.

Sales for 2WD 40-100 hp tractors in April were down 3.7%, with 4,986 sales this year, and 5,177 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 15,835 tractors have been sold in this category, down 6.9% from 17,013 at the same time last year. 2WD 40-100 hp tractor inventory began at 38,518 in April. 

Sales for 2WD 100+ hp tractors in April were up 7.2%, with 2,640 sales this year, compared to 2,462 last year. Year-to-date, AEM reports 7,615 tractors have been sold in this category, down 0.5% from 7,654 at the same time last year. 2WD 100+ hp tractor inventory began at 12,085 in April.

“Larger tractors with more than 100 hp tend to be the most stable of all equipment,” Campbell says. “The slight uptick of 7% in sales is likely more filling the deficit than a sign of increased demand.”

Sales for 4WD tractors were up 24.1% in April, with 495 sales this year, and 399 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 1,320 tractors have been sold in this category, up 1.9% from 1,295 at the same time last year. 4WD tractor inventory began at 761 in April. 

Combine Sales

Sales for self-propelled combines were up 6.7% in April with 601 sales this year compared to 563 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 1,804 combines have been sold as of April, down 13% from 2,074 at the same time last year. Self-propelled combine inventory began at 1,483 in April. 

“Despite April’s increase in combine sales, over-supply challenges persist, and it shows with year-to-date sales still down by 13%,” Campbell says. “Combine demand is not as resilient as tractors. This continued decline reflects what we are seeing in the used combine market with calculated financial decisions by farmers who are anticipating much lower profitability in 2024.”