Tentative recovery in new tractor sales

The UK tractor market is showing tentative signs of recovery with registrations up in the first six months of 2026 after a sustained period of depressed sales.

Although still 8% below the five-year average, the 5,955 registrations at this point in the year mark a 22% shift upwards from the first half of 2025, a year when new tractor sales were at their lowest since the Second World War.

A total of 999 machines were logged in June 2026, up 17% on June 2025.

See also: Tractor registrations in 2025 lowest since records began

Stephen Howarth, agricultural economist at the Agricultural Engineers Association, says that while the recovery is welcome, it didn’t amount to a “booming market”.

“If registrations continue at a similar pace we will end the year with 10,000-10,500 registrations compared to the 10,000-12,000 we have seen in recent years,” he said.

“Given that farmer confidence remains low and input costs have been increasing in recent months, the recovery remains fragile and gains could yet slow down in the second half of the year.”

Some of the January-June 2026 registrations will represent orders placed by dairy farms at a time when milk prices were strong.

“Milk prices have since come down quite a lot and that might mean demand from that sector will have eased off a bit,” Mr Howarth said.

Those orders are also likely to have been made before the war in the Middle East and the inflationary consequences of that on farm input costs.

Mr Howarth says it is possible that orders may have stalled after that and this will feed into registration figures later in the year.

The disruption of that war to global supply chains is likely to push up the price of new tractors going forward.

Steel costs have also firmed, partly as a result of tariff and quota impositions between the UK, EU and the US, which will inevitably have price repercussions too.