Horsepower is galloping up in tractor stakes
Horsepower is galloping up in tractor stakes
By Andy Collings
TOTAL tractor horsepower sold into the UK agricultural market last year was 1,279,000, 22% more than in 1998, reports the Agricultural Engineers Association.
The figure also reflects a 6.7% rise in the average size of tractors, which is now 116.6hp.
Actual numbers of tractors registered also rose to total 10,969 units, a welcome 14.4% up on 1998. But compact tractor sales did not fare nearly as well and, with 652 registrations, recorded a fall of 28.8%.
Regionally, tractor sales in the north and Wales were the poorest, with falls of 5.4% and 0.7%, respectively. Clouding common belief that it was just the large arable areas buying the most tractors last year, the highest rise in sales was in Scotland at an impressive +29.2%.
Horsepower analysis
Jan-Dec 1998 Jan-Dec 1999 % change
HP range Units % of total Units % of total
0-40 916 8.7 652 5.6 -28.8
41-60 262 2.5 238 2.0 -9.2
61-70 532 5.1 321 2.8 -39.7
71-80 684 6.5 752 6.5 9.9
81-90 1,393 13.3 1,294 11.1 -7.1
91-100 2,299 21.9 2,438 21.0 6.0
101-120 1,579 15.0 1,948 16.8 23.4
121-140 1,786 17.0 2,340 20.1 31.0
141+ 1,040 9.9 1,638 14.1 57.5
Unknown 11 0.1 0 0