In November of this year, sales two-wheel drive that had less than 40 horsepower dropped 5.4 percent when compared to November 2008. On a year-to-date basis, tractor sales for this group decreased by 20.5 percent, dropping from 94,149 to 74,809.
Tractors with larger horsepower did not do much better, according to the AEM's report. For example, two-wheel drive tractors with between 40 to 100 horsepower saw sales drop 22.2 percent when compared to November of last year. Overall for the year, sales of these types of tractors decreased 29.3 percent.
Tractors that were two-wheel drive and had more than 100 horsepower also saw declining sales in the month, dropping 6.3 percent when compared to November 2008. For the year, sales declined by 14.1 percent.
For tractors with four-wheel drive, sales declined 2.8 percent for the month. When compared to November of last year, overall sales of farm tractors have dropped from 8,423 to 7,449, which is an 11.6 percent decline. For the year, sales are down 22.2 percent.
The results for November reflect down sales that the industry has seen in recent times. For example, Deere & Co. recently reported a fourth-quarter loss of $222.8 million, though the company also noted that the company's earnings can in at $873 million for the year.
