Dealer sentiment on current conditions remained unchanged in June (31, the same as in May), and the three- to five-year outlook lifted a bit to 37 (compared with 32). These figures are both below the neutral outlook of 50.
For this month’s Pulse Report, Soundings Trade Only, Baird Research and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas asked 69 marine retailers to assess recent trends in North America. More dealers reported retail declines (52%) than growth (36%) in June, an improvement compared to May, when 57% reported declines and only 18% reported growth.
“People are just not buying anything right now unless they have the money and are check-writers,” one dealer said. “Financing is not happening.”
Another dealer said that the “current economic landscape is held hostage by stubborn interest rates, elevated cost of living and uncertainty of tariffs.”
On used-boat sales, dealers reported the first positive signal since February 2024 — a sign that some payment-sensitive buyers were seeking value in the current market. June trends improved versus May, with relative strength where dealers could find a boat that met demand for an affordable monthly payment.
Dealers reported slightly better inventory comfort versus May, but most (66%) considered new-boat inventory “too high” compared with just 9% that reported “too low.” One dealer said, “Factory rebates have helped drive sales. Competition is still high due to lots of dealers having aged and excessive inventory.” An equal percentage of dealers (37%) reported used inventory being “too low” versus “too high.”
One dealer said: “Manufacturers need to throw real money at the high field-inventory problem and find ways to deal with the Covid-era inflated prices that are becoming increasingly more challenging to consumers. Perhaps the days of volume boat sales are in our wake?”
When asked what was working, dealers cited manufacturer rebates and discounts. Service, ancillary product sales and used-boat sales were also noted as positives.
One dealer summarized conditions as such: “Used brokerage boats on the lower end ($50,000 and below) are staying in the highest demand. Value products for new-boat retail are gaining some traction, while the higher-end products are still struggling some. Manufacturer incentives have helped some in working deals; however, they do not seem to be bringing the customer in the door.”
As for what was not working, many comments centered on lagging pontoon and towboat sales. One dealer summed up the overall frustration: “New-boat sales were nonexistent for us in June, which is definitely an oddity. We worked hard in the prior six months to jettison all of our carryover product, and we got back to current inventory. However, the sell-off of carryover units remains a problem for some of our fellow dealers here in our market, and so margins will continue to suffer. But now that the sun has finally started to shine on a regular basis, we hope to see traffic pick up going into July.”
Another dealer commented about general market conditions: “I believe we have reached peak boat ownership in our area. Having done this as long as I have, I am seeing customers age out of boating. Their children have grown up boating and enjoy it; however, new-boat prices, along with sky-high housing costs, stagnant wages, inflation, other less-expensive recreation options, I believe, will lead to a contraction over the long term in boat ownership. Basically, the rent’s too damn high.”
Regarding workforce issues, another aspect of the June survey, dealers cited managing labor costs as the most pressing challenge. Second was training and upskilling current employees. “We have already reduced staffing to the core level,” one dealer said. “This trend began in 2023 through 2024. We will not add employees until we see a positive economic turn.”
