New-boat sales were up 4.6 percent in August, based on preliminary data from Statistical Surveys, and climbed 3.3 percent in the main powerboat categories.
This story by Reagan Haynes originally appeared in Trade Only Today.
“Positive months are always good,” SSI sales director Ryan Kloppe told Trade Only Today. “If you have positive growth on top of positive, on top of positive, that’s great.”
In the main powerboat categories, ski and wake boats saw the most robust growth for the month – 14.9 percent, with 856 units registered – based on early reporting from 27 states representing around 62 percent of the U.S. market.
Aluminum fishing boats followed, growing 9.5 percent with 2,695 units sold versus 2,462 last year. Pontoon sales increased 5.8 percent to 3,452 units from 3,262 last year.
Sales of outboard fiberglass boats declined 3.5 percent.
Boat registrations in Florida dipped from 3,272 for the month in 2017 to 3,129 this year. Kloppe speculated that Florida was still running behind with its registration paperwork, which the firm suspects has been a recurring issue all summer.
Sailboat registrations lagged again, dipping 24.3 percent to 109 units sold in the month.