UK registrations of agricultural tractors (over 50hp) showed a sharp decline in May. The monthly total of 586 machines was 42% down on the same month in 2019, a slightly smaller year-on-year decline than April.
The AEA attributes a large part of the recent falls to the continuing effect of Covid-19 and, in particular, the temporary closure of many manufacturing plants across Europe. The market may well have been down anyway, though, with the challenging weather conditions of recent months likely to have had an impact on orders from farmers.
May’s registrations bring the total for the year to 4,263 machines, 27% down on the first five months of last year and the lowest total for this point in the year since 2001. The total number of tractors registered over the last 12 months was 10,501, the lowest level the moving annual total has reached since 2016.
