UK tractor registrations are taken as a broad indicator of the strength of the domestic market for agricultural equipment. Tractors must be licensed for use on public roads and as such are registered with the Department for Transport which allows an accurate count to be made. In value terms, sales of tractors, plus parts and accessories, account for almost one half of farmers’ total spend on equipment, which again makes this data series a prime indicator.
Agricultural Tractor Registrations (>50hp): Monthly 2019-2021
| Year | Month | Units | Yearly % Change | Year to date | Yearly % Change | Moving Total | Yearly % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Jan | 692 | -0.6 | 692 | -0.6 | 12009 | = |
| Feb | 518 | -10.5 | 1210 | -5.1 | 11948 | -0.2 | |
| Mar | 1840 | +11.7 | 3050 | +4.4 | 12141 | +2.4 | |
| Apr | 1744 | +47.3 | 4794 | +16.8 | 12701 | +6.1 | |
| May | 1008 | -16.2 | 5802 | +9.3 | 12506 | +2.8 | |
| Jun | 1100 | -7.0 | 6902 | +6.3 | 12423 | +0.9 | |
| Jul | 1548 | +16.5 | 8450 | +8.0 | 12642 | +0.7 | |
| Aug | 667 | -21.3 | 9117 | +5.2 | 12461 | -0.7 | |
| Sep | 1010 | +5.3 | 10127 | +5.2 | 12512 | -0.4 | |
| Oct | 771 | -7.3 | 10898 | +4.2 | 12451 | -0.9 | |
| Nov | 522 | -26.2 | 11420 | +2.3 | 12266 | -1.9 | |
| Dec | 620 | -26.7 | 12040 | +0.2 | 12040 | +0.2 | |
| 2020 | Jan | 501 | -27.6 | 501 | -27.6 | 11849 | -1.3 |
| Feb | 578 | +11.6 | 1079 | -10.8 | 11909 | -0.3 | |
| Mar | 1814 | -1.4 | 2893 | -5.1 | 11883 | -2.1 | |
| Apr | 908 | -47.9 | 3801 | -20.7 | 11047 | -13.0 | |
| May | 631 | -37.4 | 4432 | -23.6 | 10670 | -14.7 | |
| Jun | 1029 | -6.5 | 5461 | -20.9 | 10599 | -14.7 | |
| Jul | 952 | -38.5 | 6413 | -24.1 | 10003 | -20.9 | |
| Aug | 657 | -1.5 | 7070 | -22.5 | 9993 | -19.8 | |
| Sep | 1199 | +18.7 | 8269 | -18.3 | 10182 | -18.6 | |
| Oct | 685 | -11.2 | 8954 | -17.8 | 10096 | -18.9 | |
| Nov | 650 | +24.5 | 9604 | -15.9 | 10224 | -16.6 | |
| Dec | 776 | +25.2 | 10380 | -13.8 | 10380 | -13.8 | |
| 2021 | Jan | 580 | +15.8 | 580 | +15.8 | 10459 | -11.7 |
| Feb | 594 | +2.8 | 1174 | +8.8 | 10475 | -12.0 | |
| Mar | 2085 | +14.9 | 3259 | +12.7 | 10746 | -9.6 | |
| Apr | 1009 | +11.1 | 4268 | +12.3 | 10847 | -1.8 | |
| May | 1103 | +74.8 | 5371 | +21.2 | 11319 | +6.1 |
Please note that figures for all months in 2020 were revised in January 2021 following a reconciliation exercise carried out with DVLA.
Source: AEA Economics Department/DVLA
Agricultural Tractors: The agricultural tractor market in the first half of 2020 was adversely affected by the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains. Production plants across Europe were temporarily closed and, even where they stayed open, supply chains were disrupted. The market would probably have been challenging anyway, given the effect of extreme weather in late 2019 and early 2020 on farming activities. As a result, registrations in the first seven months of the year were 24% lower than in the same period of 2019. Once the first wave of Coronavirus restrictions were eased and the weather effects diminished, the market picked up and registrations in the closing months of the year were substantially higher than a year before. Nevertheless, registrations for the year as a whole were still 14% lower than in 2019, totalling 10,380 machines. This was similar to the levels seen in 2015 and 2016, the lowest of recent years.
History: Tractor registrations fell back in 2020 to their lowest level in twenty years, although this was partly due to the unprecedented circumstances and the annual total was close to those seen in 2015 and 2016. The second chart shows that the total power of machines registered in 2020 declined as well but not by as much as the number of machines. The total was 1.78 million hp, 11% less than in 2019, as the average power of agricultural tractors registered during the year topped 170hp for the first time.
Regional: Almost all parts of the UK saw a decline in registrations between 2019 and 2020. Only Wales and the South East of England saw a fractional rise in registrations. However, the rate of decline was smaller in the North of England and Wales than elsewhere. The sharpest fall was in the Home Counties, with the South West and Northern Ireland also seeing declines of over 20%, compared with 2019.
Source: AEA Economics Department
| 2018 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Units | % of Total | Units | % of Total |
| John Deere | 4040 | 30.1 | 3800 | 28.1 |
| CNH of which: New Holland Case IH | 4031 2531 1500 | 30.0 18.9 11.2 | 3518 2314 1204 | 26.0 17.1 8.9 |
| AGCO of which: MF Fendt Valtra | 2937 1348 924 665 | 21.9 10.0 6.9 5.0 | 3335 1665 921 749 | 24.6 12.3 6.8 5.5 |
| Kubota | 746 | 5.6 | 887 | 6.5 |
| Claas | 528 | 3.9 | 778 | 5.7 |
| JCB | 301 | 2.2 | 278 | 2.1 |
| Same Deutz-Fahr | 209 | 1.6 | 243 | 1.8 |
| AgriArgo of which: McCormick Landini | 131 86 45 | 1.0 0.6 0.3 | 151 103 48 | 1.1 0.8 0.4 |
| Others | 502 | 3.7 | 555 | 4.1 |
| Total UK | 13425 | 100.0 | 13545 | 100.0 |
N.B. Data includes Compact Tractors (<= 50 hp) and Agricultural tractors (> 50 hp)
Fendt includes Challenger
Data released after one year delay. Note: market shares in 2018 will have been affected by high levels of pre-registrations in late 2017.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units | 10433 | 10493 | 11928 | 12013 | 12040 | 10380 |
| Annual % Change | -14.3 | +0.6 | +13.7 | +0.7 | +0.2 | -13.8 |
| Total horsepower (000′s) | 1640 | 1666 | 1939 | 1991 | 1999 | 1775 |
| Annual % Change | -13.3 | +1.6 | +16.4 | +2.7 | +0.4 | -11.2 |
| Average horsepower | 157.2 | 158.8 | 162.6 | 165.8 | 166.0 | 171.0 |
| Annual % Change | +1.2 | +1.0 | +2.4 | +2.0 | +0.1 | +3.0 |
