Smaller tractors led declines in U.S. and Canada farm tractor unit sales while overall tractor inventories are down more than 40% year-over-year according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).
U.S. total farm tractor sales fell 12.7% in June compared to 2020, the second overall negative result in a year, while U.S. self-propelled combine sales rose 4.1%. The sub-40 hp segment led the decline, falling 18.4%, with a small decline in the mid-size 41-100 hp segment, down 3.1%. All other segments were positive, with articulated 4WD segment leading the way for the second straight month by more than doubling, up 141.8% to 266 units sold. The 100+ hp 2WD segment also grew 24.8%. Year to date farm tractor sales remain up 16.7% and combines up 11%.
For Canada, June monthly tractor and combine sales were a mixed bag, declining in the sub-40 hp and self-propelled combine segments, while growing everywhere else, with the biggest growth in 100+ hp 2WD units, up 69.8% to 343 units sold, while total farm tractor sales were down slightly 3% to 3,217 units sold.
Available inventories may explain some of the changes in sales, as U.S. total farm tractor inventory (71,035) is 41.3% below levels in June 2020 (121,169), while Canadian inventory is down 33.2% over that same time (9,535 in 2021 versus 14,288 in 2020).