Tractor sales jumped more than 40 percent last month, compared to a year ago. The sales were driven by small tractors, but late last year, row crop tractors, combines, and four-wheel-drive tractors took off.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers says that it is not sure why the smaller equipment sales surged, but the pandemic may have played a role.
According to the Association’s Curt Blades, “If you look at the overall economy, there are certain sectors have done remarkably well. Home improvement items have done particularly well, luxury items have gone particularly well, cars have gone particularly well... what it amounts to is that folks that normally may spend some of their disposable income on a vacation or a nice dinner somewhere have been reinvesting in their homes and reinvesting in other things, and fortunately, the small tractor markets, oftentimes for those non-farmers, falls into that category of ‘nice.’ I don’t want to call it a luxury good, but we certainly have been able to take advantage of that sort of COVID bump over the last couple of months.”
Blades says that he is optimistic about equipment and ag sales heading further into the year.
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U.S. tractor sales are up, according to one report