The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) reported that new-powerboat sales were at 187,000 units in July year to date, a decline of 18% compared with the previous year.
New NMMA data also showed that while overall new-powerboat sales decreased 11% compared with January through July in prepandemic 2019, pontoons, wakeboats and yachts outpaced 2019 year-to-date sales levels.
“In the first seven months of the year, new-boat sales have dipped below our 2019 pace, demonstrating that the combination of economic uncertainty and the expected return of competition for consumers’ attention are starting to show their impact,” said NMMA president and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer, adding “This is not unique to boating, as most industries are experiencing pressures as inflation, a volatile stock market and talk of a global recession have grown.”
Although supply-chain challenges remain, they have prevented the boating industry from overproducing, as other segments did during the past two years, Hugelmeyer said. “Marine dealer inventories remain fairly lean, signaling that pipelines are still being refilled, leaving the industry in a healthier position than past slowdowns in recent history,” he added.
New pontoon unit sales were down 13% year to date compared with the same period in 2021, but up 3% during the same period in 2019. New yacht unit sales year to date were flat compared with the same period in 2021, and 16% higher than the same period in 2019.
