2026 Tractor Sales Data

[Muhammad]

January, 2026 sales reported from 237 same-store tractor dealers according to Constellation Dealer Insights came in at down 11%, the fourth consecutive month of sales declines year over year.

January 2026 down 11%
February 2026 down 11%

 

[oldnslo]

Muhammad,
Does that site break it down to different tractor manufacturers like Deere, Kubota, AGCO, etc. just curious on if effected companies making large ag tractors the same as companies more focused on CUT size.

 

[zzvyb6]

Not surprised. Older machines go on forever, an older population is selling their inventory, newer machines appear to be to complicated and too 'electronic', plus population of potential new users/owners would probably prefer a better phone instead of doing 'peon' work. Some can't afford 'affordable housing' ! Many now get their food from a delivery service no matter what the cost.

 

[dodge man]

I have no data on numbers or who buys what but I’m guessing the typical homeowner machines like the typical TBN person owns is a very small piece of the pie. I think the big money is in ag. That market isn’t going away and if sales are down people are getting by with what they have.

 

[Muhammad]

Muhammad,
Does that site break it down to different tractor manufacturers like Deere, Kubota, AGCO, etc. just curious on if effected companies making large ag tractors the same as companies more focused on CUT size.

AEM I believe reports MFG numbers but it's self-reported and we don't have access to that. This is a snapshot, I don't know exactly the size of the dealerships but I'm guessing they are mostly in the compact and utility market based on the sales dollar volume reported.

 

[Thomas]

Maybe part of the decline you can get covid shot etc....check out Tractor Mike on youtube.

 

[Snobdds]

COVID brought a lot of demand forward, there was a lot of money looking for an asset.

 

[tacticalturnip]

COVID brought a lot of demand forward, there was a lot of money looking for an asset.

That's where my thoughts were going; I would hope things are just stabilizing.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Look at the car/pickup lots ...

Back in October of 2021 I blew the engine in my 1989 pickup truck 100 miles from home, Friday evening ... I had cash in the bank looking to buy a house ... I had been toying with the idea of a newer truck, but couldn't justify the money they wanted, and I could use that for my new house ... Not much to pick from with my pre-chosen research, found 2 trucks in Tucson with the engine I wanted ... One was 2 WD, the other 4X4, I bought the 4X4 ... Neither had a 8' bed, or manual transmission ... !

A few months later I was moved to Missouri, couldn't find a contractor to call me back for my much needed driveway expansion, I was planning on a tractor for cutting the fields anyways, but decided to do the driveway myself ... Was looking for a pre-emissons 50-75 HP tractor, then decided I really needed one with a backhoe, all there was within 500 miles was ABused ones ...

So I started looking new, under 25 HP ... Out of the five area dealers, I had a choice of two (2!) tractors, both little overgrown lawnmowers (SCUT) I ended up buying the Massey Ferguson ...

My point is both the auto and tractor lots were pretty barren then ... I was told by a few dealers it could be 3-18 months (a year and a half!!) before they expected any new tractors!

Look at the lots now! Take your choice of any model.

While I did buy a new one in 2022, I also this past summer also bought a 2005 52HP Kubota ...

 

[anomad]

Look at the car/pickup lots ...

Back in October of 2021 I blew the engine in my 1989 pickup truck 100 miles from home, Friday evening ... I had cash in the bank looking to buy a house ... I had been toying with the idea of a newer truck, but couldn't justify the money they wanted, and I could use that for my new house ... Not much to pick from with my pre-chosen research, found 2 trucks in Tucson with the engine I wanted ... One was 2 WD, the other 4X4, I bought the 4X4 ... Neither had a 8' bed, or manual transmission ... !

A few months later I was moved to Missouri, couldn't find a contractor to call me back for my much needed driveway expansion, I was planning on a tractor for cutting the fields anyways, but decided to do the driveway myself ... Was looking for a pre-emissons 50-75 HP tractor, then decided I really needed one with a backhoe, all there was within 500 miles was ABused ones ...

So I started looking new, under 25 HP ... Out of the five area dealers, I had a choice of two (2!) tractors, both little overgrown lawnmowers (SCUT) I ended up buying the Massey Ferguson ...

My point is both the auto and tractor lots were pretty barren then ... I was told by a few dealers it could be 3-18 months (a year and a half!!) before they expected any new tractors!

Look at the lots now! Take your choice of any model.

While I did buy a new one in 2022, I also this past summer also bought a 2005 52HP Kubota ...

I bought my B2601 and KX-57 right after things went to Helena hand basket but before dealer inventory dried up and still at pre hand basket pricing. I rarely get lucky with things, but sure did on that and selling my house in the DC beltway around the same time.

My local Kubota guy didn't have hardly anything on the lot for ~2 years after that. I think he had lawn mowers pretty regular. But not tractors or heavy equipment. Now he's absolutely swimming in equipment. I go walk Ruby there on Sunday mornings sometimes just to kick tires and tempt myself with wild abandon - LOL.

 

[rScotty]

January, 2026 sales reported from 237 same-store tractor dealers according to Constellation Dealer Insights came in at down 15%, the fourth consecutive month of sales declines year over year.

I'm not surprised. I'd enjoy a new tractor, but it's hard to see enough improvement to justify the time or expense.

The only functional change I see in today's tractors compared to a 25 year old machine are the emission controls and electronics. Are those really advantages?

Tractors still don't have 4 wheel brakes, good stability, suspension, or a 4wd front end designed for loader stresses. Engines and tranny design peaked decades ago. The 3pt hitch hasn't evolved in 50 years now. Even the seat is as uncomfortable today as it was when we were all kids.

Tractors already do all their jobs pretty well, they have done so for years now, and they last nearly forever. Interesting buyers in a new tractor requires it to offer something that the old ones don't have.

Instead of innovation, what we have is a lot of companies all copying each other. Progress has become a race to see who can build the same thing for less money.

My guess is that price by itself is not going to turn the declining sales trend around.

What would it take to make buying a new tractor more interesting?
rScotty

 

[Wobblin-Goblin]

COVID brought a lot of demand forward, there was a lot of money looking for an asset.

Our local LS/TYM dealer said during the china virus that tractors would sell within days of arriving at his dealership. That's insane demand.

 

[Wobblin-Goblin]

Tractors still don't have 4 wheel brakes, good stability, suspension, or a 4wd front end designed for loader stresses. Engines and tranny design peaked decades ago. The 3pt hitch hasn't evolved in 50 years now. Even the seat is as uncomfortable today as it was when we were all kids.

Instead of innovation, what we have is a lot of companies all copying each other. Progress has become a race to see who can build the same thing for less money.

What would it take to make buying a new tractor more interesting?

You must be missing the part where manufacturers are starting to design tractors with more automotive type features so their operation is less like a dedicated piece of equipment and more like a vehicle they drive every day. That part is welcome to a degree.

Also, I must say that my 4707 is different from every other tractor I've ever owned in how comfortable it is to operate, and that's by design as well. It has radial tires, a rubber-mounted cab, rubber floor mat, and an air-ride seat that is plush, all done to reduce fatigue and add comfort.

As far as adding things like four wheel brakes and suspension, those will obviously add two things that are negatively viewed by both the makers and the users: cost and complexity. Tractors have a reputation as "forever" machines because they are largely simple. Think about how people bwitch and moan when something goes wrong on their tractor now, when tractors have the well-earned reputation of being reliable. Now add a bunch of complexity and imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

What's funny is there are still lots of people out there that try to find the simplest, cheapest, most bare-bones tractor possible because "all that new fangled stuff like A/C and air seats will just break and cost money." My dad is one of them. He's more at home on his 1985 John Deere 850 than almost anything else. Part of it is he knows he can fix almost anything on it in the unlikely event something ever needs fixing on it.

 

[R Barger]

You must be missing the part where manufacturers are starting to design tractors with more automotive type features so their operation is less like a dedicated piece of equipment and more like a vehicle they drive every day. That part is welcome to a degree.

Also, I must say that my 4707 is different from every other tractor I've ever owned in how comfortable it is to operate, and that's by design as well. It has radial tires, a rubber-mounted cab, rubber floor mat, and an air-ride seat that is plush, all done to reduce fatigue and add comfort.

As far as adding things like four wheel brakes and suspension, those will obviously add two things that are negatively viewed by both the makers and the users: cost and complexity. Tractors have a reputation as "forever" machines because they are largely simple. Think about how people bwitch and moan when something goes wrong on their tractor now, when tractors have the well-earned reputation of being reliable. Now add a bunch of complexity and imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

What's funny is there are still lots of people out there that try to find the simplest, cheapest, most bare-bones tractor possible because "all that new fangled stuff like A/C and air seats will just break and cost money." My dad is one of them. He's more at home on his 1985 John Deere 850 than almost anything else. Part of it is he knows he can fix almost anything on it in the unlikely event something ever needs fixing on it.

I also fit in that group.
John Deere 850 4x4 times 2
John Deere 850 2wd
YANMAR YM336D
Mahindra 4540 4wd [2025 OLD SCHOOL]
At almost 73 yrs old I should not worry about repairs but I can't change my way of thinking.

 

[rScotty]

-SNIP_
What's funny is there are still lots of people out there that try to find the simplest, cheapest, most bare-bones tractor possible because "all that new fangled stuff like A/C and air seats will just break and cost money." My dad is one of them. He's more at home on his 1985 John Deere 850 than almost anything else. Part of it is he knows he can fix almost anything on it in the unlikely event something ever needs fixing on it.

I also fit in that group.
John Deere 850 4x4 times 2
John Deere 850 2wd
YANMAR YM336D
Mahindra 4540 4wd [2025 OLD SCHOOL]
At almost 73 yrs old I should not worry about repairs but I can't change my way of thinking.

I see that both you guys own mostly older tractors, and I happen to agree with that. I prefer the older machines myself. A lot of that is because we enjoy mechanical things. Being able to do the maintenance & repair myself on well designed tractors is at least half the fun.

But the thread was originally about exploring reasons for the recent decline in new tractor sales.
As much as some of us like old tractors, I'm not so sure that the answer to the declining sales is to produce "brand new old-style" simpler machines, or that they would have the same appeal for today's new tractor buyer.

I could be wrong; it's happened before,
rScotty

 

[deserteagle71]

The only functional change I see in today's tractors compared to a 25 year old machine are the emission controls and electronics. Are those really advantages?
rScotty

Definitely not advantages!

If anything goes wrong with my ancient John Deere 2020 I can fix it myself easily. If anything were to go wrong with my Kubota M7060 I'd have to take it to the dealer; I don't have the software needed to diagnose a problem.

 

[1 Old Man]

Definitely not advantages!

If anything goes wrong with my ancient John Deere 2020 I can fix it myself easily. If anything were to go wrong with my Kubota M7060 I'd have to take it to the dealer; I don't have the software needed to diagnose a problem.

Intentional design. Proprietary software. No one likes it but the manufacturers
and dealers. My old NH TC40, I can fix. LS 573, has to go to the dealer. Totally sux.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

But the thread was originally about exploring reasons for the recent decline in new tractor sales.
As much as some of us like old tractors, I'm not so sure that the answer to the declining sales

But what if the desire to have an older robust easy to repair with available parts, is what is causing old geezers (young geezers too!) to keep their old Massey Ferguson, John Deere, Case ... ? So they are not looking for a new tractor, no matter the cost?

I saw a town in Texas somewhere on US 287 that has a fleet of 50+ year old International tractors hooked to brush hogs for highway maintenance ...

Or like I (a youngish geezer - 60 in a couple of months!) mentioned above, that I recently bought a 20 year old tractor to avoid the more complex emissions systems of newer tractors, who also would have happily bought a older tractor for my first tractor for my new property, but during the COVID supply chain dilemma, they were not available ... So, I bought a brand new under 25 HP SCUT ...

While I love the versatility of the little overgrown lawnmower Swiss Army Knife Tractor ... And at this time I plan to keep it, if 2022 had the availability of used tractors like now, I wouldn't have bought it, or even looked at it! (When the salesman suggested it, as that was the only BH model he had, I actually laughed at him!)

 

[sidecar]

I could not agree more with buyers who intentionally avoid new tractors with emissions equipment and electronic gizmos that add little value but many expensive repairs when they fail. There's no way in hell any tractors with electronic gizmos will be repairable once the tractors are 20 years old, the electronic toys fail, and no replacements are available from the manufacturers. The junk yards will be full of expensive machines that won't run because some unavailable electronic control--far different from the 75 year old Ford 8N's and Farmall's that still work for people every day.

 

[sixdogs]

Here is a breakdown with November year-over-year numbers. The hit is on on the big 4WD machines and the answer is $4 corn. Also hit is the under 40HP tractors and lots of answers to that.

Possible good pricing if you need and can afford something and lots of nearly new things for sale from homeowners maybe cutting back.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/tractor-sales-down-almost-20-combines-even-more-all-hp-numbers-here.634576/