Sooner or later, the tough comparisons to last year’s boat-buying frenzy were bound to take hold and bring registration numbers back to Earth, even as the customer demand for vessels remains strong.
And the challenges in the global supply chain are showing no signs of abating. U.S. builders continue to add work shifts and look to increase output, but a worldwide shortage of critical supplies – and an obligation to fulfill bustling order books – continues to drive registration numbers down.
Preliminary data from Statistical Surveys, a Michigan firm that tracks new-boat registrations, showed that August’s numbers continued the pattern of limited sales for the fourth consecutive month. Total industry registrations representing 35 states, or about 76 percent of the U.S. boat market, were down 24 percent for the month, with the main powerboat segments deep-sixing 35 percent when compared with August 2020 numbers.
On a year-to-year basis, overall registrations in the most popular boating categories were down 6.7 percent, with total industry registrations clocking in at 227,391 units moved, a 7 percent drop, from 244,559, compared with last year.
Click here to read the full story from Jeff Moser in Trade Only Today.