Overall registration numbers ticked up in December, with a jump in three-month rolling average numbers in some categories.
15’ and OVER POWERBOAT REGISTRATIONS. IMAGE COURTESY INFO-LINK
Registration numbers for the 15-foot-and-over U.S. powerboat market proved resilient through December, with a solid uptick in numbers for freshwater fish boats picking up the slack in sales of pontoons and tow boats. New-boat registrations were down 8.1% in December from the 12-month rolling average, the fifth-in-a-row monthly improvement in the overall trend. Registrations across all seven segments totaled 232,706 units through December on a rolling, 12-month basis.
The data for new-boat registrations was provided by Info-Link, a Florida-based company that compiles registration numbers from the U.S. Coast Guard and individual states.
On a rolling three-month basis, total numbers were down only 1.3% from the same period last year, with gains on that basis in freshwater fish boats, PWC, runabouts and the cruiser/yacht categories. These numbers suggest that optimism in the markets is not entirely misplaced. On the rolling three-month basis, the freshwater fishboat category gained 3%; PWC, 3.8%; runabouts, 5%; and the cruiser/yacht category, 1.6%.
“Some dealers are celebrating strong shows, while others were disappointed by the buying activity, and that leaves us in a bit of a middle ground as far as overall industry sales go,” said Matt Gruhn, president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas.
Again, this month, good numbers came from the freshwater fish boat segment. That category was up 2.1% on a 12-month rolling average, and total units registered were 53,841 on that basis. For December, unit sales were 2,011, slightly down 0.7% from last December’s total of 2,025 units sold. Good monthly numbers also came from the cruiser/yacht category, with 278 units sold for a 16.2% increase over the figures for December 2023.
However, PWC, pontoon, saltwater fish and tow boat categories continued to lag year-over-year, with drops of 14.3%, 12.3%, 9% and 11.4%, respectively, in their 12-month rolling averages.
The steepest drop in monthly numbers came from the tow boat category, with 200 units sold, down 24.4% in the month from December 2023 sales units.
For state figures, some markets showed strength. For numbers of units, Texas led the way nationwide with 636 boats registered, marking a 28% increase over the same month in 2023. California had 301 new boats registered for a 9% increase for the month from the prior year.
“The warmer weather always brings out new boaters and boaters looking to upgrade,” Gruhn said. “But as we witnessed with the boat show season, it was the dealers that were proactive, who were actively working on leads, who were creating reasons to buy — those are the dealers that are reporting positive results from the shows. It’s going to take a similar approach and similar levels of proactive measures as we get into spring and seek to move passive shoppers to active buyers. That preparation should already be underway.”
