Marine dealers say interest and sales of new boats remained strong in August but said lack of inventory created a headwind to retail activity.
“August would have been much better if we had more inventory,” wrote one of 86 dealer respondents to the Pulse Report, a survey by Baird Research that gauges monthly market conditions. “The inventory that we were getting was getting sold before we could even unload it.”
Components were also creating challenges for dealers.
“Resupply of boats, motors and trailers,” wrote another respondent, when asked what is not working for business. “Our suppliers can’t produce to match demand. And this will carry over into 2021. Indeed, one of our boat lines will not get us new boats until March 2021. A year that started with doubt and anxiety ended with a total wipeout of inventory – it was crazy.”
Click here to read the full report from Reagan Haynes in Trade Only Today.
Eighty-two percent of dealers reported that new boat inventory was too low, and 89 percent said used boat inventory remains extremely lean and near record lows, according to the survey that is administered in conjunction with the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and Trade Only Today.
