US retail boat sales shows positive gains for August

US retail boat sales shows positive gains for August

Outboard boats up four per cent in retail sales, while declines of other types continue to slow

Info-Link’s August Bellwether report showed the first positive gain in unit retail sales since February 2006. The Bellwether report measures leading boating states, accounting for about half of new-boat registrations in the US.

The report showed about a two per cent gain for total unit sales in the 12-month period through August compared to the same period a year ago. The gains were driven by the outboard boat market which saw sales increase by nearly five percent for the year-over-year comparison.

Sales in other segments continue to be down, but  their rates of sales decline have slowed.

Retail sales in the sterndrive/jetboat category were down about six percent for the year-over-year period, but that rate was about 12 per cent last month.

The decline in personal watercraft sales also slowed in August, down 9 percent compared to 11 per cent in July. Sales of Ski Boats were also down 10 per cent in August, with about a percentage point gain compared to July.

The decline in sportfishing boat sales also slowed by about one per cent last month compared to July.


Source