Marine dealers said government inaction was the single biggest factor in demand for new boats as the industry awaits tax reform – however, dealers didn’t rank it as impactful as they did last year or in 2015.
This story by Reagan Haynes originally appeared in Trade Only Today.
Marine retailer sentiment based on conditions decreased sequentially, from 77 to 70, and dropped from 76 last year. The 3- to 5-year outlook also dropped, from 78 to 75, and relative to last year, when the longer-term outlook was 80. Seventy-three dealers participated in the survey.
New-boat retail growth moderated in November, but remained positive as 35 percent of retailers reported growth and 26 percent reported a decline.
Used-boat retail trends in November were consistent with the prior month, as 31 percent of retailers reported growth, compared with 35 percent in October and 29 percent in November last year.
November represents just about 3 percent of annual retail sales, so the trends are not particularly relevant, Baird analysts said in the report.
In November, more dealers considered new-boat inventory “too high” compared with “too low,” with 38 percent saying they believed they had too much product versus 8 percent who said they didn’t have enough.
Although most dealers reported volume growth, some commented on margin pressure, leading to lower profits.
