Luxury yacht orders grow nearly 8 percent

swadminNovember 22, 2005

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — New orders for luxury yachts grew 7.9 percent compared with year-earlier figures, and there was also a 35 percent increase in expedition-style yachts, ShowBoats International reported yesterday, citing figures from its recently released 2006 Global Order Book.

The publication, which ShowBoats International says is “a barometer of the fiscal health of international luxury yacht industry,” reports that 81,852 feet of yachts, or 688 projects, are currently contracted or under construction.

The increase was spurred primarily by orders for motor yacht projects of 80 to 119 feet, as well as those 150 feet and larger, and reflects continued optimism in the face of a rapidly changing global and political climate, ShowBoats International said.

However, orders for motor yachts between 120 and 149 feet declined 5 percent, according to the annual report. Open-style yachts held stable at 87 builds, and sailing yachts declined nearly 12 percent.

Italy retained its position as the world’s leading luxury yacht-building nation, with 260 units and 29,804 linear feet of boats. The United States again placed second, with 85 units accounting for 10,621 linear feet. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom retained third and fourth place, respectively, while Germany was fifth.

On the strength of its total construction footage of 8,450 feet, Azimut-Benetti continued as the world’s leading builder, while The Ferretti Group, with 77 charter yachts under construction, held in second place. With a total build length of 4,363 feet, Sunseeker advanced to third place, supplanting Rodriguez Group, which fell to fourth. Royal Denship, ranked ninth last year, jumped to fifth, with 29 projects representing 2,976 feet.

The “custom builders” category was again paced by Benetti (Italy), with 14 projects totaling 2,640 feet. Feadship (Netherlands) jumped to second with 11 projects amassing 2,107 feet, while Lurssen Yachts (Germany) fell to third, with nine projects totaling 2,072 feet. U.S.-leader Trinity Yachts, was fourth, while Heesen Yachts (Netherlands) placed fifth.