Tractor registrations in December were up year-on-year for the first and only time in 2024.
A total of 791 machines were registered in December, 14.1% higher than the previous year. It meant that total registrations in 2024 reached 10,241, a 13.3% reduction compared with 2023.
The December figure is in line with the mild upturn seen in the year’s final quarter. Registrations in the last three months of the year were down just 5% year-on-year, compared with 14%, 13% and 20% in Q1, Q2 and Q3 respectively.
However, the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) is hesitant to state whether this represents an improvement in demand, or whether registrations are nearing the bottom of the market.
The total for 2024 was the lowest number of registrations seen since 1998, with 10,241 machines being fractionally below other low periods such as 2015, 2016 and 2020, according to the AEA.
It also breaks a streak of registrations falling between 11,500 and 12,100 machines, though not in the way the industry would have hoped for.
