In December, the total number of two-wheel drive tractors sold in the country amounted to 11,519. That's 9.5 percent lower than the 12,733 sold in the same month during 2008. Overall for 2008, 193,313 two-wheel drive tractors were sold, which is almost 22 percent lower than the year prior.
However, four-wheel drive tractors saw a 2 percent increase in sales for the year. They year-to-date total for sales of these machines came to 4,514, whereas 2008 saw 4,427 units moved. At 449, sales of four-wheel drive tractors in December were up 16.9 percent when compared to the same month in 2008.
Overall for 2009, sales of farm tractors dropped 21.3 percent from levels seen in 2008.
Though total tractor sales were down, self-propelled combine purchases increased for both December and 2009 as a whole. December's sales were up 3.4 percent, while yearly sales increased 14.8 percent. In all, 9,717 self-propelled combines were sold in the country in 2009.
According to the most recent installment of Creighton University's Rural Mainstreet Index, sales of farm equipment inched up in December in 11 rural states, though those purchases are still below positive growth levels.
