Tractor registrations in September showed a second dramatic monthly fall with 766 tractors sold, a fall of 29.2% compared with the same month last year say the AEA (Agricultural Engineers Association).  In August the fall was 27.3% (823 units) for tractors above 50hp.

The biggest fall in 2015 compared with 2014 was recorded in May with a drop of 32.7% (845), whilst the only increase in sales was in June when 1198 tractor were registered compared with 1144 last year.

Overall sales for the 9 months to September 2015 are 8703, compared with 10553 for the same period in 2014, a drop of 17.5%.

If similar falls are recorded for the final three months of the year then the final figure could fall to below 10,000 for the year. In 2014, the final figure was 12,443, when 1880 tractors sold in the period October to December.

During the past decade, the best year was in 2008 when 17,104 tractor were registered. This dropped to 15013 in 2009, again to 133,347 in 2010 before rallying to 14,094 in 2011. The figure for 2012 was 13,951 and 12,498 in 2013.

The trend in the UK is mirrored in the US, where forecasters are predicting a drop of around 20% caused by an over-supply and difficulties in moving on high-value used tractors.