Spring boat sales cooling off?

MIAMI – Info-Link’s Bellwether Report for the month of April shows a continued downtick across the board, the company reported in a recent statement.

The 3, 6, and 12 month rolling averages adjusted through April, available in graph form at www.info-link.com/bellwetherreports.asp, demonstrate this downtick.

“The PWC and stern drive segments that seemed to be bucking the trend last month have given way to what looks like an overall ‘cooling off’ period for spring boat sales,” said Jesse Wells, director of sales and marketing at Info-Link. “Although keep in mind these numbers all reflect a comparison against a year ago period where boat sales were exceptionally brisk.”

One likely factor has been an unusually cold spring in many regions of the country.

A positive thread throughout these numbers is that the high-end brands and larger boats all tend to be up, added Wells.

Dealer inventories up?
Given the downtick, it is no surprise that the dealers tracked by Spader Cos. are reporting higher inventories for the first four months of the year, compared to 2004. However, these dealers also are seeing increases in new boat sales.

Spader dealers’ often deliver better than average results, according to the company, which may explain the discrepancy.

For a more detailed report of Spader dealers’ results so far this year, see next week’s Boating Industry E-Newsletter.

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