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Boating Business

Recreational Boating Boom Shows No Signs of Slowing

A bowrider is among the most popular ways for a family to get on the water.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) announced recently that new boat sales remain at elevated levels with numbers through March up 30% compared to the 2020 average. Demand is at an all-time high and dealers are selling boats as fast as they come in.

New Normal

“As the country returns to a new normal, people are reassessing how they spend their quality time with loved ones, and many are continuing to choose boating as the preferred choice in recreation,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, NMMA president. “All signs point to boating demand and boat sales remaining strong as more people discover the mental health benefits, joys and freedoms of being outside and on the water.”

Part of what is driving growth is an increase in first-time boat buyers. New NMMA data show 415,000 first-time buyers entered the market in 2020. The buyers are also averaging younger and are 1.5 times more likely to be women.

 

Women are playing a larger role in purchasing and operating boats.

Additional statistics on the industry’s size, makeup and demographics include:

•Retail unit sales of new powerboats in the U.S. reached a 13-year high in 2020 with nearly 320,000 units sold, up 13% compared to 2019 – levels the recreational boating industry has not seen since before the Great Recession in 2008.

•Annual U.S. sales of boats, marine products and services totaled $49.3 billion in 2020, up 14%from 2019.

•The following new powerboat categories are driving record retail unit sales:

Personal watercraft (PWC), including Jet Ski, Sea Doo and WaveRunner, were up 8% to 82,500 units in 2020; with accessible entry-level price points, personal watercraft are often considered a gateway to the boating lifestyle.

 

Personal watercraft lead the way in sales of recreational powerboats.

Sales of wakesports boats—popular for wakesurfing, wakeboarding and skiing, attractive to new and active boaters—were up 22% to 13,600 units in 2020.

Sales of freshwater fishing boats and pontoons boats, often sought for their versatility and entry-level price points and accounting for 45% of new powerboats sold in 2020, were up 13% to 144,700 units.

•With the retail price of a new aluminum boat package (includes trailer, engine & other accessories) averaging $35,200 and new personal watercraft averaging $12,700, boating is attracting more participants as people of all ages and walks of life seek quality time on the water.

•An estimated 100 million Americans go boating each year.

•61% of boat owners have an annual household income of $100,000 or less.

•95% of boats on the water in the U.S. are less than 26 feet—boats that can be trailered by a vehicle to local waterways.

 

Fish-and-ski models can be used to keep an active family busy during a day on the water.

•95% of boats sold in the U.S. are American made.

•The recreational boating industry supports 691,149 American jobs (511,117 direct jobs and 180,032 indirect jobs) and 35,277 American businesses.

•Boating and fishing are the largest outdoor recreation activities in the U.S., totaling $23.6 billion in current-dollar value added. Source – U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)