PHOTO COURTESY NMMAI don’t need to tell you that our industry is facing some headwinds in the marketplace. We’ve all felt them. While there are significant changes happening in the consumer market and political environment, there are also great opportunities. Few industries are better placed to take advantage of them than ours.
Here’s why: As a member-owned and member-driven organization, the National Marine Manufacturers Association is built for moments like this. We consistently support member businesses and industry stakeholders through the ups and downs of our cyclical industry.
The NMMA board of directors has been aligned for a long time on the importance of growing our capabilities in the areas of advocacy and market expansion. Regardless of who wins elections, we will always face unpredictable regulatory and economic environments. Changes in public policy and consumer competition do not boom and bust; they’re ever-present. So, the NMMA has been working hard to put recreational boating and recreational boating businesses in the best position possible to win consistently.
As we near the end of 2024, expect retail unit sales of new powerboats to be down 12% to 15%. That’s due to a complex mix of pandemic and post-pandemic impacts like a pull forward in boat sales, inflation-driven price hikes, higher interest rates and the intense return of competition for the consumer’s time, mindshare and wallet.
Even with 2024 sales down, we’re still at or above the 15-year unit sales trend line — and boaters who are already on the water are using their boats and creating continued spending.
What does that tell us? It means a strong desire for boating remains and Americans still want to be on the water. They’re purchasing what they can afford right now to make that happen. In many cases, it’s a personal watercraft or freshwater fishing boat, two higher-volume, entry-level products that have remained fairly resilient throughout the downturn.
Now, here’s the challenge: How can we stay welcoming to new boat buyers and take the million-plus, first-time, entry-level boaters from the past few years on a good-better-best journey? How do we convert today’s personal watercraft owners or boat renters into tomorrow’s consumers of center consoles, cabin cruisers, sportfishing yachts and more?
Nurturing their journey as new- and entry-level boaters so they become lifelong boaters is crucial to our long-term success.
We have significant untapped potential to bring more people into our industry, more boaters to our boat shows and more customers to you. That is why Discover Boating continues to play an important role in reaching out to our industry’s vast audiences of the future. It’s a role that one company or one brand is challenged to do on its own.
To broaden boating’s appeal, like the luxury auto and four-wheel drive industries have done so successfully, we have to be intentional in how our messages and brand messengers resonate with various groups — culturally and geographically.
That means utilizing research to better understand today’s consumer and how they consume and interact with brands, products and services. We must help these consumers authentically see themselves in our products and imagine themselves enjoying all the boating lifestyle has to offer.
That’s why Discover Boating is working on your behalf to reach target audiences through multiple marketing platforms, paid media and partnerships, including social media, content creators, public relations, targeted activations and Discover Boating Boat Shows.
With more than 6 million annual online visits to Discover Boating, and hundreds of thousands of visits to our shows, there’s a lot of great momentum. As we head into the winter show season, we have a laser focus on helping you move more boats and product.
Shifting to advocacy, it has certainly been a politically charged year. It’s important to remember that America’s boating lifestyle has no political affiliation — which is a strength we must cherish and protect.
The marine industry has a bipartisan reputation for being reasonable, thoughtful and collaborative. Ours is a true American pastime, and we must remain welcoming to 100% of our potential consumers. We focus on the issue, not the person or politics, in Washington, D.C., and across every statehouse in the country.
As a result of these efforts, recreational boating made progress on several advocacy-related fronts this year:
At the state level, the NMMA continues to fend off an array of onerous regulations and threats, including legislation that unfairly targets wakesurfing and personal watercraft access.
Federally, we maintained a relentless multi-prong year-long campaign to halt the economically destructive vessel speed rule that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proposing to restrict access across most of the Atlantic Seaboard. For as long as it takes, we are committed to preserving ocean access for boaters. Marine technology remains the best way to protect our endangered marine wildlife without risking boater access, boater safety or industry livelihoods.
Looking ahead to 2025, we still have more work to do, specifically on trade, access and infrastructure. Further reducing boating’s carbon footprint also remains a focus as the global recreational marine industry works to create a better boating experience through innovation and sustainable marine fuels.
Our industry has many proud stories to tell, from our $230 billion annual economic impact to our long history of water, fisheries and ocean conservation to the wellness benefits of boating to the amazing legacies of fourth-generation boatbuilders. Members of Congress, regulators and the American public need to hear these inspirational stories consistently from the NMMA and each of you.
These stories are important. In a world where it’s becoming more and more challenging for Americans and our nation to come together, let’s remember that recreational boating is a place of respite and fellowship.
We are in the pursuit-of-happiness business, and it’s vital that we continue to be recognized in Washington and around the world as a welcoming and collaborative industry.
Frank Hugelmeyer is president and CEO of the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
