U.S. retail sales of small farm tractors under 40 hp continued their positive growing trend in December 2015, showing an increase of 11.4% compared to the same period last year, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the leading trade organization for off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers. Conversely, retail sales of 40-100 hp tractors continued to decrease, reporting a 16.2% drop in December, which was the largest year-over-year drop in 2015 with only 5,685 units sold. In addition, year-over-year total retail sales of large equipment fell 3.3% with 409 units sold in December.
"Last year was a challenging year for the Ag industry as farm incomes dropped due to low commodity prices, decreased exports from a strong dollar and an oil price that eroded ethanol margins," says Charlie O'Brien, AEM Senior Vice President. "Although these issues are still of great concern to U.S. farmers, the good news for 2016 is that Section 179 has been extended and is retroactive, which will help encourage production ag equipment sales."
