2020 Reflects Strong Boat Sales, New Boat Registrations

December 10, 2020 By InTheBite Digital Editor

You may have seen it or been a part of it but despite a turbulent year there has been a jump in the number of consumers dipping their toes into the boating market. The upward tick in boat sales was especially prominent during the Summer months.

The NMMA reported that new powerboat retail sales were up almost 10 percent by mid-October on a seasonally-adjusted basis compared to a year ago. According to the NMMA, it was the May to September sales that drove growth with boats 27′ and above leading sales growth by size category through September, up 16 percent year to date in mid-November.

Capt. Scott “Fraz” Murie wrote that from personal watercraft to luxury cruisers, center consoles to sportfish yachts, sales are up and in some cases more than 75 percent.

Additionally, sales of saltwater fishing boats and yachts were shown to have double-digit growth compared to last year. Outboard engine sales jumped in August as well.

Vicky Yu, NMMA director of business intelligence, noted that “all-new power boat segments have recovered from any pandemic-related losses, with double-digit growth in six segments, surpassing pre-pandemic expectations.”

There was, however, a dip in new boat manufacturing activity in September though NMMA experts are predicting a new increase alongside the shipment of new boat parts. Murie said companies have told him that their inventories are slim and that they are having trouble getting new units because manufacturers have been forced to shut down.

“Every boat company that I’ve spoken to tells me the same thing—they have never seen sales like this before,” Murie explained. “A lot of these companies make it easy to buy a boat, too. Offerings like no money down, no payments for six months and financing for decades are certainly attractive.

Along with the year’s rise in boat sales, new boat registrations within the main powerboat categories rose 34.2 percent year over year in September, and went up 8.5 percent year to date, according to data from Statistical Surveys Inc. reported on by Trade Only Today. Florida saw 2,557 new boat registrations, a 16.8 percent increase in September versus September 2019. Texas had a 35.2 percent increase with 2,332 registrations.