Market Outlook

If you missed Wednesday’s annual State of the Boating Industry webinar or just want to watch it again, it is now archived at BoatingIndustry.com/webinars and posted below. The annual State of the Industry presentation is where we take a look inside the numbers shaping the industry. Our expert panel is made up of the contributors to the 2014 Market Data ...

MIAMI – Sales of 15-foot or greater powerboats showed positive growth in September for the second straight month after almost six years of negative growth, according to Info-Link Technologies Inc.’s Bellwether Report. The report provides a rolling 12-month year-over-year percent change in unit sales and has been updated through September. Outboard boat sales rose to 5.1 percent growth. Info-Link’s graphs ...

DENVER, Co. – August retail sales of powerboats by Brunswick Corporation grew 3.7 percent over August 2010, according to a report by RBC Capital Markets. The positive numbers can be attributed to sales of aluminum boats, which grew by 7 percent, despite a 12-percent decline in sales of sterndrive/inboard boats. Sales of aluminum boats reached 3,392 in August compared to ...

CLEARWATER, Fla. – MarineMax Inc. secured a deal with its CGI Finance credit facility for the facility to provide up to $30 million for floor plan financing to fulfill MarineMax’s Azimut inventory needs. The financing facility secured today with CGI is in addition to $150 million the company secured with GE. The facility includes renewal options with each advance under ...

MANISTEE, Mich. – Dr. Shrink was ranked 4,344 on this year’s Inc magazine 500/5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in the nation. The shrink wrap supplier managed a sales growth of 22 percent between 2007 and 2010. To qualify for the list, companies must be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent, as of Dec. 31, 2010. Companies ...

WASHINGTON– The U.S. Coast Guard has begun the 2011 National Recreational Boating Safety Survey and is calling for the boating public to help by filling out questionnaires and completing a phone survey. The survey questionnaire, being conducted by the market research firm ICF Macro, is being sent by mail to U.S.-registered recreational boat owners. ICF will also be calling the ...

FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Mercury Marine parent company Brunswick recently donated $80,000 to the Fond du Lac United Way during the organization’s annual fundraising campaign. Employees of Fond du Lac-based Mercury Marine raised $62,564 for a total contribution of $142,564 by the marine manufacturer. According to the Fond du Lac Reporter, the donation of $142,564 helps the Fond du ...

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently released figures for the summer showing that accidents on the state’s public lakes and rivers were the lowest since 2007, according an article in the Des Moines Register. State officials attribute the drop in boating mishaps to increased education, added patrols and the economy. Iowa lowered the blood-alcohol limit ...

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Brunswick Corporation Chairman and CEO Dustan E. McCoy will attend the Credit Suisse 2011 Small and Mid-Cap Conference on Sept. 28 at the Parker Meridien Hotel in New York City. The company will post the investor relations presentation it will use at the conference on its website on Sept. 28, the same day as the conference. ...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and Discovery Education are collaborating on a program designed to generate interest in boating, fishing and the outdoors. The program, Explore the Blue, is an educational resource for parents and teachers filled with information designed to engage students K-5 in a dialogue about the importance of outdoor recreational activities. The ...