Strong commodity market boosts large ag equipment sales

Sales for combines and 4WD tractors saw growth in April, while the 2WD tractor market segment continued to decline, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

"In April we saw an increase in sales of the 100+ hp farm tractors, but a decline in both the smaller tractor units, which is likely due to sub-compact market decline, which represents a large volume of units, and had record sales in 2020 through 2022," says Curt Blades, senior vice president, industry sectors and product leadership at AEM. "Because commodity markets for agriculture products remain strong, we continue to see increases in sales of the larger, more expensive segments of 4WD tractors and self-propelled harvesters."

Tractor sales

Total farm tractor sales for April 2023 were 26,160, down 16.3% from 2022 with 31,270 sold. Year to date, AEM reports 75,476 total farm tractors were sold as of April this year, down 15.7% from 89,532 this time last year.

Tractor sales are broken down by horsepower range as follows:

Sales for 2WD sub-40 hp tractors in April were down 20.1% from 2022, with 17,976 sales this year, and 22,501 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 49,209 tractors have been sold in this category, down 20.2% from 61,676 at the same time last year.

Sales for 2WD 40-100 hp tractors in April were down 13.7%, with 5,314 sales this year, and 6,157 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 17,294 tractors have been sold in this category, down 12.2% from 19,696 at the same time last year.

Sales for 2WD 100-plus hp tractors in April were up 5%, with 2,471 sales this year, compared to 2,353 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 7,677 tractors have been sold in this category, up 5.1% from 7,305 at the same time last year.

Sales for 4WD tractors were up 54.1% in April, with 399 sales this year, and 259 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 1,296 tractors have been sold in this category, up 51.6% from 855 at the same time last year.

Combine Sales

Sales for self-propelled combines were up again in April, up 23.1% with 564 sales this year compared to 458 last year. Year to date, AEM reports 2,078 combines have been sold as of April, up 71.9% from 1,209 at the same time last year.