Sales of agricultural tractors were down again in May with just over 1000 units sold, according to the latest report from the Tractor & Machinery Association of Australia (TMA).
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This was 26 per cent lower than the same month last year and brings the year-to-date position to being 25pc behind the corresponding period.
May and June of 2023 were the last two months of the federal government's Temporary Full Expensing Program, which drove sales to unprecedented levels.
TMA executive director Gary Northover said the association expected a more realistic month-to-month comparison to appear from July onwards, as the impact of this incentive disappears.
"Sales have drifted back down to more regular levels," he said.
"Overall, we are still forecasting a healthy 2024 for sales."
Mr Northover said dealers were reporting strong demand for items such as seeders and spraying equipment, which he said was generally a precursor to strong tractor demand.
"Anecdotally, people have said there's a bit of optimism around planting and (equipment for) weed control," he said.
Sales of harvesters were yet to materialise but Mr Northover said dealers were reporting a healthy forward order book and expected another solid season.
"Certainly orders have been placed, but delivery will only start occurring from August/September in the north and October/November down in the southern areas," he said.
Looking at the state-by-state picture, Queensland was down 15pc against the same month last year to be 17pc behind year to date, NSW was down 31pc and is now 29pc behind for the year and Victoria was also down, this month by 29pc, to be 21pc below last year.
Western Australia reported a drop of 29pc to be down 8pc compared with the same time last year.
South Australia had another big drop down 25pc, now 24pc behind YTD.
Tasmania was off 39pc for the month, with sales in the NT finishing 11pc up.
Sales of the 200 horsepower (150 kilowatt) plus range, which had been largely positive all year, experienced a complete turnaround to be 41pc down compared to the same month last year, but remain 7pc ahead YTD.
The small under 40hp (30kw) category was down by 9pc for the month, to be 24pc behind YTD.
The 40 to 100hp (30-75kw) range was also down again, this time by 37pc, and is now behind 35pc YTD.
Lastly, the 100 to 200hp (75-150 kw) category was down 14pc, to be 19pc off for the year.
Baler sales finished 30pc down on the same month last year, with difficult growing conditions for hay, and are 5pc behind YTD.
Sales of out-front mowers were up again, by about 9pc for the month.
TMA conference
This year's TMA conference is scheduled to be held on Thursday July 18 in Melbourne at the iconic MCG, a venue the TMA last visited in 2017.
Continuing the theme: Towards 2030, the conference will feature an exciting line-up of speakers on critical industry issues such as AI in ag, farm safety and more. Plus, there will be an economic update from Westpac's Justin Smirk and the state of industry report from Kynetec.
Tickets are now on sale at the TMA website www.tma.asn.au.
Paula Thompson
Paula Thompson is ACM's National Machinery and Ag Tech writer. She has been an agricultural journalist for more than 20 years. Prior to her current role, she was a reporter with the Stock Journal, covering livestock markets and the grains industry.
Paula Thompson is ACM's National Machinery and Ag Tech writer. She has been an agricultural journalist for more than 20 years. Prior to her current role, she was a reporter with the Stock Journal, covering livestock markets and the grains industry.
