NMMA Says New Boat Sales Down 19% YTD

New NMMA data also showed that while overall new-powerboat sales decreased 11 percent compared with January through July in pre-pandemic 2019, pontoons, wakeboats and yachts outpaced 2019 year-to-date sales levels.

“In the first seven months of the year, new-boat sales have dipped below our 2019 pace, demonstrating that the combination of economic uncertainty and the expected return of competition for consumers’ attention are starting to show their impact,” NMMA president and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer said in a statement.

“This is not unique to boating, as most industries are experiencing pressures as inflation, a volatile stock market and talk of a global recession have grown.”

Although supply-chain challenges remain, they have prevented the boating industry from overproducing, as other segments did during the past two years, Hugelmeyer said.

“Marine dealer inventories remain fairly lean, signaling that pipelines are still being refilled, leaving the industry in a healthier position than past slowdowns in recent history,” he said.

New pontoon boat unit sales were down 13 percent year to date compared with the same period in 2021, but up 3 percent during the same period in 2019.

Unit sales of new wakeboats were down 11 percent year to date compared with the same period last year, but 16 percent higher than the same period in 2019.

New yacht unit sales year to date were-flat-compared with the same period in 2021, and 16 percent higher than the same period in 2019.