Agricultural tractor registrations in the UK for the first nine months of 2024 were 15% lower than in the same period last year, new analysis shows.
Last month, a total of 899 machines were registered, which is 19% down on September 2023, the Agricultural Engineers' Association (AEA) said.
Last month's figure was also 17% below the average for the same month over the previous five years. Indeed, it was the lowest September figure since 2015.
It brought the total for the first three-quarters of the year to 8,224 machines - 15% lower than in January to September 2023 and 13% behind the average for the opening nine months of the year.
As part of its analysis, the AEA also looked at regions and power bands, showing that the number of tractors registered this year have been lower across most of the power range.
The exception is for the largest machines - over 240hp - where nearly 15% more have been recorded this year.
That segment accounts for 16% of tractors registered this year, up from 12% in the first nine months of last year, the AEA explained.
At or below 240hp, but over 50hp, 19% fewer machines were logged in January to September 2024 than in the same period last year.
At regional level, the biggest year-on-year declines during the first nine months of 2024 were in the South of England, the analysis shows.
Percentage falls become progressively smaller the more northward across the UK, with Scotland, the North of England, North Wales and Northern Ireland all seeing smaller falls than regions further south.
The AEA said this might reflect the relatively strong prices for livestock products this year, compared with crops, which have also been hardest hit by the adverse weather.
It concluded that the north-south divergence was less apparent in the third quarter, though the North West of England saw a small increase and Scotland and Northern Ireland smaller decreases than other regions.
