North American sales of compact tractors (2WD, under 40 horsepower) were up 7.5% in December compared with December 2014, according to the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers.

That marks the third straight month of increased sales.

Sales were up 10.4% for the last 3 months of 2015, compared with the last 3 months of 2014, and up 6% in 2015 compared with 2014. 

There were a total of 8,693 compact tractors sold in December, compared with 8,089 sold in December of 2014.

There were 131,064 compact tractors sold in 2015 compared with 123,629 sold in 2014.

Mid-range tractors (2WD, 40-100 horsepower) saw some declines. Sales were down 15% in December (year over year) and down 9.7% for the last 3 month of 2015 compared with the last 3 months of 2014. Mid-range tractor sales were also down 3.6% in 2015 compared with 2014.

There were a total of 6,350 mid-range tractors sold in December, compared with 7,473 sold in December of 2014. In all, there were 65,782 mid-range tractors sold in 2015 compared with 68,229 sold in 2014.


UPDATED: 3:30 PM CST, January 19, 2016

Editor's Note: This data comes from AEM and represent the machines in each product category being sold at retail in North America by most, but not necessarily all, of the manufacturers.

AEM classifies the manufacturer-supplied tractor data into four categories:

  • Compact 2WD <40HP
  • Mid-range 2WD 40-100
  • Row-crop 2WD >100
  • ALL 4WD Tractors

The compact and mid-range numbers were detailed in the story.

The latest statistics for all 4WD tractors are:

  • up 0.6% for December compared with December 2015
  • down 21.7% for the last 3 months of 2015 compared with the last 3 months of 2014
  • down 35.5% for 2015 compared with 2014

For row-crop 2WD >100 HP tractors, the latest statistics are:

  • down 31.4% for December compared with December 2014
  • down 33.7% for the last 3 months of 2015 compared with the last 3 months of 2014
  • down 25.2% for 2015 compared with 2014

These numbers cover all of North America, so may not reflect what a dealer might see in their specific sales region.